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Th«  copy  filmed  hart  has  b««n  raproducad  thanks 
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Tha  imagas  appaaring  hara  ara  tha  bast  quality 
possibia  considaring  tha  condition  and  lagibility 
of  tha  original  copy  and  in  kaaping  with  tha 
filming  contract  spacifications. 


Onginal  copias  in  printad  papar  covar*  ara  filmad 
baginning  with  tha  front  covar  and  anding  on 
tha  last  paga  with  a  printad  or  illustratad  impraa- 
»ion,  or  tha  back  covar  whan  appropriata.  All 
othar  original  copias  ara  filmad  baginning  on  tha 
first  paga  with  a  printad  or  illustratad  impras- 
s.on.  and  anding  on  tha  last  paga  with  a  printad 
or  illuatratad  imprassion. 


Tha  last  racordad  frama  on  aach  microficha 
shall  contain  tha  symbol  ^»  (maaning  "COIM- 
TINUED"),  or  tha  symbol  V  (maaning  "END") 
whichavar  applias. 

Maps,  platas.  charts,  ate,  may  ba  filmad  at 
diffarant  reduction  ratios.  Thosa  too  larga  to  ba 
•ntiraly  included  in  one  exposure  ara  filmad 
baginning  in  the  upper  left  hand  corner,  left  to 
right  and  top  to  bottom,  as  many  frames  as 
required.  The  following  diagrams  illustrate  the 
method: 


L'axamplaira  film*  fut  reproduit  grice  i  la 
g4nArosit6  da: 

Bibliotheque  nationale  du  Canada 

iru.'™?  '"'■^■"^•»  0"»  *»*  raproduites  avec  la 
Si  u"„f«    »«»'"•  "'"Pt«  tenu  de  I.  condition  et 
de  la  nattet*  da  I'axemplaire  film*,  et  an 

firmage""**  *"**'  '*'  ""**'»**»"•  «*"  contrat  da 

i!ii!!!lT'*''"  ''r'S'"""*  ^ont  la  couvartura  en 
pap ler  est  .mprim*e  sont  filmis  en  commenpant 
P«r  le  premier  plat  et  en  terminant  soit  par  la 
derniAre  page  qui  compone  une  empreinte 
d  impression  ou  dillustr.tion,  soit  par  la  second 
plat,  salon  le  cas.  Tous  las  autres  axemplairas 
originaux  sont  film«s  en  commenpant  par  la 
prami*re  paga  qui  comporta  una  empreinte 
d  impression  ou  d'illustration  at  an  terminant  par 
!■  oermare  page  qui  comporte  une  telle 
•mpreinte. 

Un  des  symboles  suivants  apparaitra  sur  la 
darni*re  image  de  cheque  microfiche,  selon  le 
cas:  le  symbols  — ♦  signifie  "A  SUIVRE  '   le 
symbols  V  signifie  "FIN". 

J:M  "^V-  P««"ches.  tableaux,  etc.,  peuvent  etre 
film«s  *  des  taux  de  reduction  diff*rents 
Lorsque  le  document  est  trop  grand  pour  etre 
reproduit  en  un  seul  ciich*,  il  est  film*  *  partir 
de  I  angle  sup*rieur  gauche,  de  gauche  *  droite 
et  de  haut  en  bas,  an  prenant  le  nombre 
d  images  n*cessBire.  Les  diagrammes  suivants 
lilustrent  la  m*thode. 


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MICROCOPY    RiSOlUTION   TEST   CHART 

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Carnegie  Endowment  for  International  Peace 


DIVISION  OF  ECONOMICS  AND  HISTORY 
iOHN  BATES  CLARK,  DIRECTOR 


PRELIMINARY  ECONOMIC  STUDIES  OF  THE  WAR 


EDITED  BY 
DAVID   KINLEY 

Prolt>Mr  of  Political  Economy.  UalTarthy  of  Illiooit 
Monbar  oi  CommitMa  oi  Ratwrcb  oi  ih*  Eadowa«at 

No.  16 


NEGRO    MIGRATION    DURING 
THE   WAR 


BT 


EMMETT  J.  SCOTT 

Secretary-Treasurer,  Howard  University, 
Washington,  D.C. 


NEW  YORK 

OXFORD  UNIVERSITY  PRESS 

AMERICAN  BRANCH:  S  West  32ho  St»iit 
LONDON.  TORONTO.  MELBOURNE.  AND  BOMBAY 

1920 


itilOi 


COPYRIGHT  1920 
2  JACON  Placi.  Wasbinoion.  D.  c. 


EDITOR'S  PREFACE 

I  think  that  no  one  more  capable  than  Dr.  Emmett  J.  Scott 
could  have  been  found  to  present  to  the  public  a  study  on  the 
subject  of  this  monograph.  The  topic  is  one  of  great  public 
importance,  and  the  author  is  equipped  for  its  treatment  both 
by  his  wide  knowledge  of  the  subject  and  his  sympathy  with 
the  viewpoint  of  his  race. 

The  problem  of  negro  labor,  its  diffusion  and  its  adaptation 
to  more  numerous  kinds  of  work,  are  problems  not  only  of 
great  public  importance  but  of  great  difficulty.  Whatever  views 
one  may  hold  on  the  general  subject  of  race  relations  between 
the  negroes  and  the  whites  in  this  country,  there  is  no  question 
that  we  can  not  reach  safe  conclusions  without  a  full  knowledge 
of  the  facts  as  they  appear  to  both  of  the  interested  parties. 
For  that  reason  this  presentation  by  Dr.  Scott  is  a  welcome  ad- 
dition to  our  information  on  the  subject. 

Sympathetically  read  it  will  help  the  whites  to  understand 
better  the  negro  viewpoint,  and  will  help  the  negroes  to  appreciate 
perhaps  more  fully  the  difficulties  which  appear  from  the  white 
viev'point.  This  is  a  field  in  which  Tennyson's  words  are  pre- 
eminently true,  that  "  Knowledge  comes,  but  wisdom  lingers." 
Yet  we  can  not  hope  ever  to  attain  the  necessary  wisdom  ex- 
cepting by  an  increasing  fulness  of  knowledge.  Therefore  I 
commend  this  study  to  every  one  who  is  interested  in  the  ques- 
tion for  dispassionate  reading  and  consideration. 

David  Kinley. 


Ill 


FOREWORD 


In  the  preparation  of  this  study  I  have  had  the  encouragement 
and  support  of  Dr.  Rol)ert  R.  Moton,  Principal  of  the  Tuskegee 
Normal  and  Industrial  Institute,  Alabama,  who  generously 
placed  at  my  disposal  the  facilities  of  the  Institute's  Division  of 
Records  and  Research,  directed  by  Mr.  Monroe  N.  Work,  the 
editor  of  the  Negro  Year  Book.  Mr.  Work  has  cooperated 
with  me  in  the  most  thoroughgoing  manner.  I  have  also  had 
the  support  of  the  National  League  on  Urban  Conditions  and 
particularly  of  the  Chicago  branch  of  which  Dr.  Robert  E. 
Park  is  President  and  of  which  Mr.  T.  Arnold  Hill  is  Secre- 
tary. Mr.  Hill  placed  at  my  disposal  his  first  assistant,  Mr. 
Charles  S.  Johnson,  graduate  student  of  the  University  of 
Chicago,  to  whom  I  am  greatly  indebted.  I  must  also  make 
acknowledgment  of  my  indebtedness  to  Dr.  Carter  G.  Woodson, 
Director  of  the  Association  for  the  Study  of  Negro  Life  and 
History,  Incorporated,  Washington,  D.  C,  for  placing  at  my 
disposal  the  facilities  of  his  organization. 

The  work  of  investigation  was  divided  up  by  assigning  Mr. 
Work  to  Alabama,  Georgia  and  Florida;  Mr.  Johnson  to  Mis- 
sissippi and  to  centers  in  Missouri,  Illinois,  Wisconsin  and 
Indiana,  while  the  eastern  centers  were  assigned  to  Mr.  T. 
Thomas  Fortune,  Trenton,  New  Jersey,  a  former  editor  of  the 
New  York  Age,  and  a  publicist  and  investigator  of  well  known 
ability.  It  is  upon  the  reports  submitted  by  these  investigators 
that  this  study  rests.  I  can  not  speak  too  warmly  of  the  en- 
thusiastic and  painstaking  care  with  which  these  men  have 
labored  to  secure  the  essential  facts  with  regard  to  the  migration 
of  the  negro  people  from  the  South. 

Emmett  J.  Scott. 

Washington,  D.  C, 
June  5. 1919. 


CONTENTS 

OAmm  '*".* 

I  Introduction '^ 

II  Causes  of  the  Migration 1'^ 

III  Stimulation  of  the  Movement 2«J 

IV  The  Spread  of  the  Movement 3^ 

V  TheCallof  the  Self-Sufficient  North ■*^ 

VI  The  Draining  of  the  Black  Belt •'»•• 

VII  Efforts  to  Check  the  Movement 72 

VIII  Effects  of  the  Movement  on  the  South 80 

IX  The  Situation  in  St.  Louis ^'' 

X  Chicag  •  and  Its  Environs 1"^- 

XI  The  Situation  at  Points  in  the  Middle  West ll'.> 

XII  The  Situation  at  Points  in  the  East 134 

XIII  Remedies  for  Relief  by  National  Organizations  . .  14:5 

XIV  Public  Opinion  Regarding  the  Migration l.'>2 

Bibliography 1"-' 

Index    1^^ 


NEGRO  MIGRATION  DURING  THE  WAR 


CHAPTER  I 


Introduction 

Within  the  brief  period  of  three  years  following  the  outbreak 
of  the  great  war  in  Europe,  more  than  four  hundred  thousand 
negroes  suddenly  moved  north.  In  exient  this  movement  is 
without  parallel  in  American  history,  for  it  swept  on  thousands 
of  the  blacks  from  remote  regions  of  the  South,  depopulated 
entire  communities,  drew  upon  the  negro  inhabitants  of  practi- 
cally every  city  of  the  South,  and  spread  from  Florida  to  the 
western  limits  of  Texas.  In  character  it  was  not  without  prece- 
dent. In  fact,  it  bears  such  a  significant  resemblance  to  the 
migration  to  Kansas  in  1879  and  the  one  to  Arkansas  and  Texas 
in  1888  and  1889  that  this  of  1916-1917  may  be  regarded  as 
the  same  movement  with  intervals  of  a  number  of  years. 

Strange  as  it  might  seem  the  migration  of  1879  first  attracted 
general  notice  when  the  accusation  was  brought  that  it  was  a 
political  scheme  to  transplant  thousands  of  negro  voters  from 
their  disfranchisement  in  the  South  to  States  where  their  votes 
might  swell  the  Republican  majority.  Just  here  may  be  found 
a  striking  analogy  to  one  of  the  current  charges  brought  against 
the  movement  nearly  forty  years  later.  The  congressional  in- 
quiry which  is  responsible  for  the  discovery  of  the  fundamental 
causes  of  the  movement  was  occasioned  by  this  charge  and  suc- 
ceeded in  proving  its  baselessness.^ 

The  real  causes  of  the  migration  of  1879  were  not  far  to 
seek.  The  economic  cause  was  the  agricultural  depression  in 
the  lower  Mississippi  Valley.  But  by  far  the  most  potent  factor 
in  effecting  the  movement  was  the  treatment  received  by  negroes 
at  the  hands  of  the  South.  More  specifically,  as  expressed  by 
the  leaders  of  the  movement  and  refugees  themselves,  they  were 
a  long  series  of  oppression,  injustice  and  violence  extending  over 

1  Congressional  Record,  46th  Cong.,  2d  sess.,  vol.  X,  p.  104. 

3 


NEGRO    MIGRATIOX   DURING   THE 


WAR 


a  period  of  fifteen  years;  the  convict  system  by  which  the  courts 

h^.^T:hi:    :;  '""■"  '^^-^  ^-^  ^°^  tnvJ  offensefLd  "1 
shenff  to  h  re  the  convicts  to  planters  on  the  basis  of  peonage- 

reasons,  a  system  of  cheatmg  by  landlords  and  storekeeoers 
V  .ch  rendered  it  impossible  for  tenants  to  make  a   ivt Tnd 

now  that  nearly  3.500  persons,  most  of  whom  were  neeroes 
were  k,led  between  18C6  and  1879.  and  their  murderer  ^were 
never  brought  to  trial  or  even  arrested.  Several  massacreTof 
negroes  occurred  in  the  parishes  of  Louisiana.  Hrnr^Adams 
travehng  throughout  the  State  and  taking  note  o f  cHnC 
muted  against  negroes,  said  that  683  colorfd  men  we  e ThippTd' 
maimed  or  murdered  within  eleven  years '  wmpped, 

In  the  year  1879,  therefore,  thousands  of  negroes  from  Mi. 
S.SSIPPI.  Louisiana.  Texas.  Alabama.  Tennessee  fn^North  aro 
hna  moved  to  Kansas.  Henry  Adams  of  Shreveport  Louisiana 
an  uneducated  negro  but  a  man  of  extraordinarrtaent  TrZ 

m  the  Lnited  States  Army  until  1869  when  he  returned  tr. 
h.s  home  m  Louisiana  and  found  the  condition  of  ne"os  in 
tolerable.     Together  with  a  number  of  other  negroes  he  fi"' 
ormed  a  committee  which  in  his  own  words  waf  intended  to 
ook  into  aflPairs  and  see  the  true  condition  of  our    ace  to  s  e 
^vhether  ,t  was  possible  we  could  stay  under  a  oerni.     l 
held  us  in  lx>ndage  or  not."    This  committee  g  ew  to  t£    entr" 
mous  size  of  five  hundred  members.    One  hundred    nd  fif  ^  of" 
these  members  were  scattered  throughout  the  South Ti,  1 

work  among  the  negroes  and  ^eport^heL  o  serTallV  ThT^^^ 
agents  quickly  reached  the  conclusion  that  the  treatment  the 
negroes  received  was  generally  unbearable.^  Some  of^he  con 
cl.tions  reported  were  that  land  rent  was  still  h°Vh  1?  T 
part  of  the  country  where  the  commit  eevatgl„ed  the 
people  were  still  being  whipped,  some  of  them  by  he."  fn  '' 
owners:  that  they  were  cheated  out  of  their  crops  and    ha?  „ 

'.-lllantic  Monthly.  LXIV,  p.  222.  '      '  "'  ^^^- 


INTRODUCTION  » 

some  parts  of  the  country  where  they  voted  they  were  being 
shot. 

It  was  decided  about  1877  that  all  hope  and  confidence  that 
conditions  could  be  changed  should  be  abandoned.  Members 
of  this  committee  felt  that  they  could  no  longer  remain  in  the 
South,  and  decided  to  leave  even  if  they  "  had  to  run  away 
and  go  into  the  woods."  Membership  in  the  council  was  solicited 
with  the  result  that  by  1878  there  were  ninety-eight  thousand 
persons  from  Louisiana,  Mississippi,  Alabama  and  Texas  be- 
longing to  the  colonization  council  and  ready  to  move.^ 

About  the  same  time  there  was  another  conspicuous  figure 
working  in  Tennessee— Benjamin  or  "  Pap "  Singleton,  who 
styled  himself  the  father  of  the  exodus.  He  began  the  work 
of  inducing  negroes  to  move  to  the  State  of  Kansas  about  1869, 
founded  two  colonies  and  carried  a  total  of  7,432  blacks  from 
Tennessee.  During  this  time  he  paid  from  his  own  pocket  over 
$600  for  circulars  which  he  distributed  throughout  the  southern 
States.  "  The  advantages  of  living  in  a  free  State  "  were  the 
inducements  offered.* 

The  movement  spread  as  far  east  as  North  Carolina.  There 
a  similar  movement  was  started  in  1872  when  there  were  dis- 
tributed a  number  of  circulars  from  Nebraska  telling  of  the 
United  States  government  and  railroad  lands  which  could  be 
cheaply  obtained.  This  brief  excitement  subsided,  but  was  re- 
vived again  by  reports  of  thousands  of  negroes  leaving  the  other 
States  of  the  South  for  Kansas.  Several  hundred  of  these 
migrants  from  North  Carolina  were  persuaded  en  route  to 
change  their  course  and  go  to  Indiana.' 

Much  excitement  characterized  the  movement.  One  descrip- 
tion of  this  exodus  says : 

Homeless,  penniless  and  in  rags,  these  poor  people  were  thronging  the 
wharves  of  St.  Louis,  crowding  the  steamers  on  the  Miscissippi  River,  hailing 
the  passing  steamers  and  imploring  them  for  a  passage  to  the  land  of 
freedom,  where  the  rights  of  citizens  are  respected  and  honest  toil  rewarded 
by  honest  compensation.    The  newspapers  were  filled  with  accounts  of  their 

1  Williams,  History  of  the  Negro  Race.  IT.  p.  375. 

2  W.   L.   Fleming,   "  Pap   Singleton,  the   Moses  of  the  Colored   Exodus, 
American  Journal  of    Sociology,  chapter  XV,  pp.  61-82. 

3  Congressional  Record,  Senate  Reports,  693,  part  H,  46th  Cong.,  2d  scss. 


6 


NEGRO   MIGRATION   DURING   THE   WAR 


longer  endure.  Their  p'^  .a  'o  ou"  a^^TuT  "'^'^h  ''^^  ""'^  "«' 
the  hearts  of  the  more  {onunltlZ^^^'c  'fr'"«  ""^  ^i-ong  touched 
VVes,.  and  aid  s^ie.ies  deZed  to Tff  H  ?  *"'"  ''"  '"  ""=  ^■«'«''  »"«» 
almost  wholly  of  colored  peonle    wer,  T""'?  "■'"*'  ""''  ^°'"P««d 

Topeka  and  various  other  pbct'x    "'  "*'"'"'  '"  Washington,  St.  Louis. 

Men  still  living,  who  participated  in  this  movement    tell  of 

eneth"^:  ''  ;;^P"""'°"  ''  "^'^-"^«'  «^-tching  to  the 
oof  ru  u  °^  ^'■°'"  '^'''  *°  ^''  '"''^«'  'tossing  States  on 
foot  Churches  were  opened  all  along  the  route  to  receive 
them.  Songs  were  composed,  some  of  which  still  linger  in  hi 
memory  of  survivors.  The  hardships  under  which  they  made 
this  journey  are  pathetic.  Yet  it  is  estimated  that  nearly  25  000 
negroes  left  their  homes  for  Kansas  ^  ^      ' 

The  exodus  during  the  World  War,  like  both  of  these  was 
fundamentally  economic,  though  its  roots  were  entangled  in  The 
entire  sooal  system  of  the  South.  It  was  hailed  as  h '"  eL' 
to  the  Promised  Land"  and  characterized  by  the  same  frenzv 
and  excitement.  Unlike  the  Kansas  movement  it  hnTnl  ^ 
sp-cuous  leaders  of  the  type  of  the  reno^^ ''  SingleZ* 
and  Henry  Adams.     Apparently  they  were  norneedfd      The 

eTed  tdlf  ^  Tllr  '"^^^^"^  ^-^""^  ''-'  '--  ^^^^^^^ 
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 

and  carry  away  thousands  before  the  excitemen  sub^ded  ' 
Despite  the  apparent  suddenness  of  this  movement  Ji  evi 
dence  indicates  that  it  is  but  the  accent„at,n„ Tf 
which  has  been  going  on  for  more  thanT/r^^^^^^^^  TT 
jndeed  has  this  shifting  of  the  negro  popV^^  *  ..tr'S 
that  ,t  has  quite  escaped  popular  attention.  ,Follou' n/  the 
decennial  revelation  of  the  census  theri^  ;<=  ,  '^""o^^'"&  the 
hiir<!t  nf  ^i;  ^o         1  .  ^^^^^^  ^^^^^  »s  a  momentary  out- 

burst of  d!  -nay  and  apprehension  at  the  manifest  trend  in  Z 
interstate  migration  of  negroes.    Inquiries  into  the  1     ng   "and 
ards  of  selected  groups  of  negroes  in  large  cities  anteZnl  th." 
-.gration  of  1016-l.U  have  revealed  from  year  to TeaTan  t 

^fet''23^'"'""''  '^  ^'"'''  ^''"'"'  XI.  pp.  22-35. 


INTRODUCTION  T 

creasing  number  of  persons  of  southern  birth  whose  length  of 
residence  has  been  surprisingly  short.  The  rapid  increase  in 
the  negro  population  of  the  cities  of  the  North  bears  eloquent 
testimony  to  this  tendency.  The  total  increase  in  the  negro 
population  between  1900  and  1910  was  11.2  per  cent.  In 
the  past  fifty  years  the  northern  movement  has  transferred  about 
4  per  cent  of  the  entire  negro  population;  and  the  movement 
has  taken  place  in  spite  of  the  negro's  economic  handicap  in 
the  North.  Within  the  same  period  Chicago  increased  her  negro 
population  46.3  per  cent  and  Columbus,  Ohio,  55.3  per  cent. 
This  increase  was  wholly  at  the  expense  of  the  South,  for  the 
rural  communities  of  the  North  are  very  sparsely  populated 
with  negroes  and  the  increment  accruing  from  surplus  birth  over 
deaths  is  almost  negligible.^ 

When  any  attempt  is  made  to  estimate  the  volume  of  this 
most  recent  movement,  however,  there  is  introduced  a  confusing 
element,  for  it  can  not  definitely  be  separated  from  a  process 
which  has  been  in  operation  since  emancipation.  Another  diffi- 
culty in  obtaining  reliable  estimates  is  the  distribution  of  the 
colored  population  over  the  rural  districts.  It  is  next  to  im- 
possible to  estimate  the  numbers  leaving  the  South  even  on  the 
basis  of  the  numbers  leaving  the  cities.  The  cities  are  merely 
concentration  points  and  they  are  continually  recruiting  from 
the  surrounding  rural  districts.  It  might  be  stated  that  2.000 
negroes  left  a  certain  city.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  scarcely  half 
that  number  were  residents  of  the  city.  The  others  had  moved 
in  because  it  was  easier  to  leave  for  the  North  from  a  large 
city,  and  there  was  a  greater  likelihood  of  securing  free  trans- 
portation or  traveling  with  a  party  of  friends.  It  is  conserva- 
tively stated,  for  example,  that  Birmingham,  Alabama,  lost  38,- 
000  negroes.  Yet  within  a  period  of  three  months  the  negro 
population  had  assumed  its  usual  proportions  again.* 

Prior  to  the  present  migration  of  negroes,  there  was  some- 
what greater  mobility  on  the  part  of  the  white  than  on  the 
part  of  the  negro  population.     As  for  example,  according  to 

» The  Censuses  of  the  United  States. 
» Ibid. 


8 


NEGRO    MIGRATIO^f   DURIXG   THE   WAR 


he  census  of  1010  of  68.070.294  native  whites.  10.366.735  or 
1..2  per  cent  were  hving  in  some  other  division  than  that  in 
uh,ch  they  were  born.     Of  1».74«.043  native  negroes  repotJ" 
by  the  census  of  1010.  963.153  or  9.0  per  cent  were  Hvno 
outsue  the  d.v.s.on  of  birth'     Previous  to  the  present  nligr" 
•on.  the  south  Atlantic  and  the  east  south  central  divisions  ^vere 
he  on  y  ones  wh.ch  had  suflfered  a  direct  loss  in  popula  ion 
through  the  migration  of  negroes.'  FU'anon 

The  census  of  1910  brought  out  the  fact  that  there  had  been 
considerable  migration  from  the  North  to  the  South    as  well 
as  from  the  South  to  the  North,  and  from  the  East  to  the  W 
I    rr7.1  ?^  P'"°"'  '^•■"  '"  '^'  North  and  living  in  the 

fut  So  th  •    H  i""  "°^  '"'  ''■''"^"'  ^^°-  ^'^  number  b<!rn 
m  the  South  and  living  ,n  the  North  (1.527.107).    The  North 
however,  has  contributed  more  than  five  times  as  many  to  the 
population  of  the  West  as  the  South  has.     The  number  o 
negroes  born  in  t  e  South  and  living  in  the  North  in  1910  .va 
41...533    or  a  little  over  two-thirds  of  the  total  number  liX 

440    34 t'sne?  '1  ''''''''  "^^^^^^  ^°^"  '"  ^'^^^Z 
440.O34.  or  4.8  per  cent.  were,  m  1910,  living  outside  the  South  ' 

The  migration  southward  it  will  be  noted  has  been  i^  recent 
years  largely  into  the  west  south  central  division.  1  Z 
migration  northward  has  been  more  evenly  distributed  by  divi! 
sions.  except  that  a  comparatively  small  number  from  the  South 
have  gone  into  the  New  England  States  « 

th7?'  fir'"  '""''"''^  °^  '''^''''  ^'^^"  °f  "^g'-°«s  ''s  shown  by 
the  fact  that  ,n  1010.  15  per  cent  of  the  whitts  and  10  pe     em 

of  the  negroes  lived  outside  of  the  States  in  which  they  w  re 

born.     This  greater  mobility  of  the  whites  as  compared  Zuh 

he  negroes  was  due  in  a  large  measure  to  the  lack  of  opjir 

unities  for  large  numbers  of  negroes  to  find  employmenMn 

the  sections  outside  the  South.    The  World  War  changed  "he  e 

conditions  and  gave  to  the  negroes  of  the  United  Stite, 

same  opportunities  for  occupations  in  practically  everv  sectbn 

^^7bt.V69r  °'  ''''■  P"'''"'='»'°"'  General  Report  and  Analysis,  p.  693 

^  /bid.,  p.  698. 

^  Vol.  1.  1910  census.  Population,  General  Repon  an.l  Analysis,  p.  699. 


INTRODUCTION  • 

of  the  country,  which  had  heretofore  been  enjoyed  only  by  the 
whites.  In  1900,  27,000  negroes  born  in  the  North  lived  in  the 
South.  In  lUlO.  41,000  negroes  liorn  in  the  North  lived  in 
the  South.  This  indicated  that  there  was  beginning  to  be  a 
considerable  movement  of  negroes  from  the  North  to  the  South 
because  of  the  greater  opportunities  in  the  South  to  find  em- 
ployment in  teaching,  medicine  and  business.  The  migration 
conditions  brought  about  by  the  war  have  probably  changed  this 
to  some  extent.  Previous  to  the  World  War,  the  States  having 
the  greatest  gain  from  negro  migration  were  Arkansas,  10r>,r)00, 
Pennsylvania,  .sr..OO(),  Oklahoma.  85,000,  Florida.  84.000.  New 
York.  .-)S,4.-)0  and  Illinois,  57,500. 

The  point  brought  out  here  indicates  that  because  of  economic 
opportunities.  Arkansas  and  Oklahoma,  being  contiguously  situ- 
ated in  one  section  of  the  South  and  Florida  in  another  section 
of  the  South,  had  received  a  greater  migration  of  negroes  than 
any  State  in  the  North, 

Dr.  William  Oscar  Scroggs  of  Louisiana  calls  attention  to 
the  tendency  of  negroes  to  move  within  the  South,  alihough, 
as  he  points  out.  this  tendency  is  not  as  great  as  it  is  for  the 
whites.    On  this  he  says : 

The  negro  shows  a  tendency,  not  only  to  move  northward,  but  also  to 
move  about  very  freely  within  the  South.  In  fact,  the  region  registering 
the  largest  net  gain  of  negroes  in  1910  from  this  interstate  movement  was 
the  west  south  centra'  division  (Arkansas.  Louisiana.  Oklahoma  and  Texas) 
which  showed  a  gain  from  this  source  of  194,658.  The  middle  Atlantic 
division  came  second  with  a  gain  of  186.384,  and  the  east  north  central  third 
with  a  gain  of  119.649.  On  the  other  hand,  the  south  Atlantic  States  showed 
a  loss  of  392.827.  and  the  east  south  central  States  a  loss  of  200,876  from 
interstate  migration.  While  the  negroes  have  shown  this  marked  inclination 
toward  interstate  movement,  they  nevertheless  exhibit  this  tendency  in  less 
degree  than  do  the  whites.'  , 

The  subjoined  tables  show  the  intersectional  migration  of 
the  negro  population : 

1  Scroggs,  "  Interstate  Migration  of  Negro  Population,"  Journal  of  Po- 
litical Economy.  December.  1917,  p.  1040. 


10 


NEGRO    MIGRATION   DURING   THE   WAR 


INTERSECTION'AL  MIGRATION  OF  NEGROES 

(As  Reported  by  Census  of  1910) 

NuMBE.  Bo«N  ,N  Specified  Divisions  and  Living  In  oh  Out  or 
These  Divisions 


Division 


United  States  . . . 
New  England  . . . 
Middle  Atlantic  . . . 
East  North  Central 
West  North  Central 

South  Atlantic  

East  South  Central 
West  South  Central 

Mountain   

Pacific  


Total  Born  in 
the  Division 


9,74<5.(M.1 

37,799 

212,145 

173.226 

198,116 

4,487.313 

2.844.598 

1.777.242 

7.342 

8.262 


Number  Living: 


Within 
Division 


8.782,890 

30,815 

189,962 

145.187 

162,054 

4,039.173 

2.491.607 

1,713.888 

4.122 

6.082 


Without 
Division 


Per  Cent  Liv- 
ing VVithout 
the  Division 
in  Which 
Born 


963.153 

9.9 

6,984 

18.5 

22.183 

10.5 

28.039 

16.2 

36.062 

18.2 

448,140 

10.0 

352.991 

12.4 

63.354 

3.6 

3.220 

43.9 

2.180 

26.4 

Number  Living  in  Specified  Dimsions 


Division 


Total 


United  States 

New  England  

Middle  Atlantic  ... 
East  North  Central 
West  North  Central 

South  Atlantic 

East  South  Central 
West  South  Central 

Mountain   

Pacific  


Living 
in  the 
Division 


9.746.043 

58,109 

398.529 

292.875 

238,613 

4.094,486 

2,643.722 

1.971,900 

20.571 


Number 

Born  in  and 

Living  in 

the  Division 


8,782,890 

30.815 

189,962 

145.187 

162,054 

4.039,173 

2.491,607 

1.713,888 

4,122 

6,082 


Number 

Living  in 

the  Division 

Born  in  Other 

Divisions 


963.153 

27,294 

208,567 

147,688 

76.559 

55.313 

152,115 

258,012 

16.449 

21.156 


Per  Cent 
Living  in 
Division 
Born  in  Other 
Divistoni 


9.9 
47.0 
52.3 
50.4 
32.1 
1.4 
5.8 
13.1 
80.0 
77.7 


INTRODUCTION 


11 


MictAiioN  NonTH  TO  South,  South  to  No«th  and  East  to  West 


Total 

Native 

Population 

Born  in: 

State  of 
Uirth  not 

Race  and  Section 
of  Residence 

The  North 

The  South 

The  We»t 

Reported 
or  Born  in 
Outlying 
Posses- 
sions, etc. 

All  Races 

United  States  

The  North  

The  South 

The  West 

White 

United  States  

The  North 

The  South  

The  West 

Negro 

United  States  

The  North 

The  South  

The  West 

78,456,380 

44,390,371 

28,649,319 

5.416,690 

68,386.412 

43,319,193 

19.821,249 

5,245,970 

9.787,424 
999.451 

8.738,858 
49,115 

46,179,002 

42,526,162 

1,449,229 

2,203,611 

45,488.942 

41.891,353 

1,407,262 

2.190,327 

621,286 

570^98 

39.077 

11.911 

29.010,255 

1.527,107 

27,079,282 

403,866 

19,814,860 

1.110.245 

18,326,236 

378,3?9 

9,109,153 

415,533 

8.668.619 

25.001 

2,906,162 

124.001 

38,230 

2,743.931 

2.766.492 

116.939 

34.523 

2.615.030 

15.604 
2295 
2.412 

10,897 

360,961 

213,101 

82,578 

65,282 

316,118 

200.656 

53.228 

62,234 

41481 

11,325 

28.750 

1.306 

I-' 


NKliKM    Mir.RATlMN    IHrR|N<,    Tin;    xvAR 


N».T  Mh.iuioN  I^sTWAnn  and  \Vi:stvvai.d  and 

N'lMITIHV  \Hn    AMI    SOITIIWARU 


Population,  1910 

White 

Section 

T,.tal 

1 

1 

Of  lor- 

All 

,    Total 

Of  Xa- 

tivc  r.ir- 

enlaKe 

eiRii  or 
Mixed 
F'arent 

Ncjiro 

Other 

age 

-- — 

Horn   fast   ntul   tiviiiu 

Wi-t  of  the   Mis 

norii   wt-*t  and  li-  ing 

5. -'70.879 

4,941,529 

3.846,940 

1.094,589 

331.031 

4.319 

cast   of   the    Mis- 

1 

sissippi  River  . . . 

684,773 

*)16.9.!9 

417.541 

199.398 

63,671 

4.163 

Net  niiRMfion  Wcsf- 

-  — 

wanl    across    the 

Mississippi    River 
fiorn    North   and   liv- 

4.592.1  Of) 

4..124,590 

3.429,.W 

895.191 

1 

267.3f)0, 

15') 

niR  South    

Born    Smith   and    hv- 

1.449,2.'<> 

1,407,262 

1,156.122 

25I.I4o' 

39  077; 

2.8<X) 

inR   Xorth    

1.527.107 

1.110.245 

944.572 

165.673 

415.533, 

1.32<) 

Net  niiRration  south- 

ward     

297.017 

211,550 

85.467  . 

i 

N'et  itiiRratioii  nortli- 

1.361 

ward    

77,878 

176.450 

1 

CH/ PTER  11 
CauKs  of  the  Migration 

It  seems  particularly  desirable  in  any  study  of  the  causes  of 
the  movement  to  get  beneath  the  usual  phraseology  on  the  sub- 
ject and  find,  if  possible,  the  basis  of  the  dissatisfaction,  and 
the  social,  political  and  economic  forces  supporting  it.  It  seems 
that  most  of  the  causes  alleged  were  present  in  every  section 
of  the  South,  but  frequently  in  a  dififerent  order  of  importance. 
The  testimony  of  the  migrants  themselves  or  of  the  leading  white 
and  colored  men  of  the  South  was  in  gentral  agreement.  The 
chief  points  of  disagreement  were  as  to  which  causes  were 
fundamental.  The  frequency  with  which  the  same  causes  were 
given  by  different  groups  is  an  evidence  of  their  reality. 

A  mr->t  striking  feature  of  the  ncjrthern  migration  was  its 
imlividu  ism.  This  factor  after  all,  however,  was  economic. 
The  motives  prompting  the  thousands  of  negroes  were  not 
always  the  same,  not  even  in  the  case  of  close  neighbors.  As 
a  means  of  making  intelligible  these  complicating  factors  it  is 
necessary  to  watch  the  process  as  it  affected  the  several  migrants. 
The  economic  motive  stands  among  the  foreniost  reasons  for 
the  decision  of  the  group  to  leave  the  South.  There  are  several 
ways  of  arriving  at  a  conclusion  regarding  the  economic  forces. 
These  factors  might,  for  example,  be  determined  by  the  amount 
of  unemployment  or  the  extent  of  poverty  in  a  community 
as  registered  by  the  pnisperity.  These  facts  are  important,  but 
may  or  may  not  account  wholly  for  individual  action.  Except 
in  a  few  localities  of  the  South  there  was  no  actual  misery 
and  starvation.  Nor  is  it  evident  that  those  who  left  would 
have  perished  from  want  had  they  remained.  Discontent  be- 
came more  manifest  as  comparisons  were  made  between  the 
existing  state  of  things  at  home  and  a  much  Ijetter  state  of 
things  elsewhere.     It  is  possible  to  note  in  the  appeals  of  the 

13 


14 


NEGRO    MIGRATION   DURING  THE   WAR 


letters  a  suggestion  of  a  desire  simply  to  improve  their  living 
standards  so  long  as  there  was  an  opportunity.  In  the  case 
of  some  there  is  expressed  a  praiseworthy  providence  for 
their  families;  and  in  others  may  be  found  an  index  to  the  pov- 
erty and  hopelessness  of  their  home  communities.  In  this  type 
of  migration  the  old  order  is  strangely  reversed.  Large  num- 
bers of  negroes  have  frequently  moved  around  from  State  to 
State  and  even  within  the  States  of  the  South  in  search  o."  more 
remunerative  employment.  A  movement  to  the  West  or  evci 
about  in  the  South  could  have  proceeded  from  the  same  caufe, 
as  in  the  case  of  the  migration  to  Arkansas  and  Oklahoma. 

Among  the  immediate  economic  causes  of  the  migration  were 
the  lalxjr  depression  in  the  South  in  1914  and  1915  and  tl-e 
large  decrerse  in  foreign  immigration  resulting  from  the  World 
War.  Then  came  the  cotton  boll  weevil  in  the  summers  of 
1015  and  191(5.  greatly  damaging  the  cotton  crop  over  consid- 
erable area,  largely  in  Louisiana.  Mississippi.  Alabama.  Georgia 
and  Florida,  and  threatening  greatly  to  unsettle  farming  con- 
ditions in  the  year  1!»1T.»  There  followed  then  the  cotton  price 
demoralization  and  the  low  price  of  this  product  during  subse- 
quent years.  The  unusual  floods  during  the  summer  of  1915 
over  large  sections  in  practically  the  same  States  further  aggra- 
vated the  situation.  The  negroes,  moreover,  were  generally  dis- 
satisfied because  of  the  continued  low  wages  which  obtained 
in  the  South  in  spite  of  the  increasing  cost  of  living.  Finally, 
there  was  a  decided  decrease  in  foreign  immigration.  The  re- 
sult was  a  great  demand  in  the  North  for  the  labor  of  the  negro 
at  wages  such  as  he  had  never  received. - 

To  understand  further  the  situation  in  the  South  at  the  be- 
ginning of  the  migration  and  just  prior  to  it.  attention  should 
l)e  directed  to  the  fact  that  the  practice  of  mortgaging  the 
cotton  crop  before  it  is  produced  made  sudden  reversals—an 
inevitable  result  of  such  mi'^^'irtune  as  followed  the  boll  weevil 
and  the  floods.  Thousands  of  landlords  were  forced  to  dismiss 
tlieir  tenants  and  close  the  commissaries  from  which  came  the 

1  AVti'  Vnrk  Times.  September  5.  9,  28.  1916. 

-Ibid..  OctobtT  18,  28:  N\nenilHr  5,  7.  12.  15:  December  4.  9,  1916. 


CAUSES  OF  THE   MIGRATION 


15 


daily  rations.  Some  planters  in  Alabama  and  Mississippi  ad- 
vised their  tenants  to  leave  and  even  assisted  them.  The  banks 
and  merchants  refused  to  extend  credit  when  cotton  was  no 
longer  to  be  had  as  a  security.  As  a  consequence,  a  great  num- 
ber of  tenants  were  left  without  productive  work,  money  or 
credit.  A  host  of  idle  persons  thrown  suddenly  on  the  labor 
market  could  have  no  other  effect  than  to  create  an  excess  in 
the  cities  to  which  they  flocked,  make  laborers  easily  replaceable, 
and  consequently  reduce  wages.  A  southern  paper  in  comment- 
ing on  this  situation  declared  "  there  is  nothing  for  this  excess 
population  to  do.  These  people  must  live  on  the  workers, 
making  the  workers  poorer  ...  if  there  is  a  tap  that  will 
draw  off  the  idle  population,  that  will  be  a  good  thing  for  the 
cities  at  least."  * 

The  circumstances  of  unemployment  which  contributed  so 
largely  to  the  restless  mood  in  some  sections  of  the  South  was 
due  primarily  to  a  lack  of  sufficient  capital  to  support  labor 
during  the  lean  seasons.  This  meant,  of  course,  that  the  cotton 
pests  and  storms  that  played  havoc  with  whole  sections  rendered 
helpless  all  classes  of  the  population.  The  usual  method  of  han- 
dling labor,  especially  on  the  cotton  plantations,  was  for  the 
planter  to  maintain  his  hands  from  the  commissary  during  the 
fall  and  early  winter  in  order  that  they  might  be  convenient 
for  the  starting  and  cultivation  of  a  new  crop.  But  with  their 
last  year's  crop  lost,  their  credit  gone  and  the  prospects  of  a 
new  crop  very  shadowy,  there  was  left  no  other  course  but  to 
dismiss  the  people  whom  they  could  not  support. 

For  a  long  time  southern  farmers  had  been  importuned  to 
adopt  a  more  diversified  method  of  farming  to  offset  the  effects 
of  unexpected  misfortune  in  the  cotton  industry  and  to  preserve 
the  value  of  the  soil.  Following  the  ravages  of  the  boll  weevil, 
the  idea  gained  wide  application.  The  cotton  acreage  was  cut 
down  and  other  crops  substituted.  The  cultivation  of  cotton 
requires  about  five  times  as  many  laborers  as  the  cultivation 
of  corn  and  the  work  is  fairly  continuous  for  a  few  employes 
throughout  the  year.     Additional  unemployment  for  negro  ten- 

iWork,  Refort  on  Negro  Migration  from  Alabama. 


m 


16 


yi:..AQ    MIGRATION'    in'RING    THE    WAR 


ant  farmers  was  an  expected  result  of  this  diversification  The 
greatest  nnn.ediate  disadvantage  tc.  ncjjro  planters  and'  small 
tarmers  resnitinj^  from  the  failure  of  the  cotton  crops  was 
the  lack  of  money  and  cre.Iit  to  sustain  them  while  the  corn 
a.Kl  velvet  beans  were  hein?  grown.  Tt  was  for  like  reasons 
.mpract.cable  to  attempt  to  raise  stock,  for  there  was  no  means 
of  makmjT  a  begmning.  as  a  certain  amount  of  capital  was 
prerequisite.  ^ 

Despite  the  fact  that  foor!  prices  began  to  rise  with  the  war 
wages  advanced  very  slowly.  In  1015.  wages  of  farm  laborers 
.n  the  South  averaged  around  75  cents  a  day.  In  the  towns 
the  prmcpal  opportunities  for  employment  wer'e  in  the  oil  mills 
lumber  mills,  cotton  compresses,  railroad  shops  and  domestic 
•service^  In  the  mills  and  shops  the  average  of  wages  ranged 
from  $1  to  $1.50  a  day.  The  wages  of  such  skilled  laborers 
as  carpenters  and  bricklayers  ranged  from  $2  to  $,3.50  a  day 
In  domestic  service  v.men  received  from  $1.50  to  $3  per  week 
and  board.  Men  in  domestic  service  received  on  an  average  of 
!^5  a  week.'  " 

In  spite  of  these  conditions  in  the  South  it  might  appear 
strange  that  not  until  f^fty  years  after  the  privil  ^e  was  granted 
negroes  to  go  where  they  pleased  did  they  begin  to  make  a 
^.dden  rush  for  the  northern  States.    Stranger  still  does  ,t  seem 

hat  the  Nor  h  affords  greater  personal  liberty,  is  less  prejudiced 
to  mdu-iduals  because  of  the  color  of  their  skins,  grants  to 
negroes  something  nearer  to  open  handed  justice,  participation 
.n  the  government,  wider  privileges  and  freer  associations  there 
should  be  m  1910  scarcely  more  tnan  one-tenth  of  the  negro 
population  where  these  reputed  advantages  are.  The  North 
has  been  looked  upon  as  the  "  Promised  Land."  the  "  Ark  of 
Safety. '  the  "  House  of  Refuge  "  for  all  these  years  A  com- 
mon reason  recently  advanced  by  the  majority  of  southern 
negroes  for  the  abandonment  of  their  homes  was  the  desire  to 
escape  from  the  oppressive  social  system  of  their  section  Why 
have  they  not  escaped  before'    The  answer  lies  in  the  very  hard 

nVork  a„d  Johnson,  Report  on  the  Migration  during  the  World  War. 


CAUSES   OF   THE   MIGRATION 


17 


fact  that,  though  the  North  atYorded  larger  privileges,  it  would 
not  support  negroes.  It  was  the  operation  of  an  inexorable 
economic  law,  confused  with  a  multitude  of  social  factors,  that 
pushed  them  back  to  the  soil  of  the  South  despite  their  manifest 
desire  to  leave  it. 

None  of  the  causes  was  more  effective  than  that  of  the 
opportunity  to  earn  a  lietter  living.  Wages  offered  in  the  North 
were  double  and  treble  those  received  in  the  S'^uth.  Women 
who  received  $2.')0  a  week  in  domestic  service  could  earn  from 
$2.10  to  $2.50  a  day  and  men  receiving  $1.10  and  $1.2r)  a  day 
could  earn  from  $2.50  to  $3.75  a  day  in  the  various  industries 
in  the  North.'     An  intensive  study  of  the  migration  to  Pitts- 

»  Attractive  advertisements  appeared  in  negro  newspapers  with  wide  cir- 
culation in  the  South.    These  are  from  the  Chicago  Defender. 

"Wanted— 10  molders  Must  be  experienced.  $4.50  to  $5.50  per  day. 
Write  B.  F.  R.    Defender  Office." 

"  Wanted— 25  girls  for  dishwashing.  Salary  $7  a  week  and  board.  John 
R.  Thompson,  Restaurant,  314  South  State  Street.  Call  between  7  and  8  a.m. 
Ask  for  Mr.  Brown." 

•'  Wanted— 25  young  men  as  bus  boys  and  porters.  Salary  $8  per  week 
and  board.  John  R.  Thompson.  Restaurant,  314  South  State  Street.  Call 
between  7  and  8  a.m.    Ask  for  Mr.  Brown  " 

"  Molders  wanted.  Good  pay,  good  working  conditions.  Firms  supply 
cottages  for  married  men.    Apply  T.  L.  Jefferson,  3439  State  Street. 

"Ten  families  and  50  men  wanted  at  once  for  permanent  work  in  the 
Connecticut  tobacco  fields.  Good  wages.  Inquire  National  League  on  Urban 
Conditions  among  Negroes,  2303  Seventh  Avenue,  New  York  City,  New 
York." 

"  Molders  wanted.  A  large  manufacturing  concern,  ninety  miles  from 
Chicago,  is  in  need  of  experienced  molders.  Wages  from  $3  to  $5.50.  Extra 
for  overtime.  Transportation  from  Chicago  only.  Apply  Chicago  League 
on  Urban  Conditions  among  Negroes.  T.  Arnold  Hill,  Executive  Secretary, 
3719  State  Street,  Chicago." 

"  Laborers  wanted  for  foundry,  warehouse  and  yard  work.  Excellent 
opportunity  to  learn  trades,  paying  good  money.  Start  $2.50— $2.75  per  day. 
Extra  for  overtime.  Transportation  advanced  from  Chicago  only.  Apply 
Chicago  League  on  Urban  Conditions  among  Negroes,  3719  South  State 
Street.  Chicago." 

"  Experienced  machinists,  foundrymen,  pattern  makers  wanted,  for  perma- 
nent work  in  Massachusetts.  Apply  National  League  on  Urban  Conditions 
among  Negroes,  2303  7th  Ave.,  New  York  City." 

"  3.000  laborers  to  work  on  railroad.  Factory  hires  all  race  help.  More 
positions  open  than  men  for  them." 

■  Men  wanted  at  once.  Good  ste?dy  employment  for  colored.  Thirty 
and  39^  cents  per  hour.  Weekly  payments.  Good  warm  sanitary  quarters 
free.  Best  commissary  privileges.  Towns  of  Newark  and  Jersey  City. 
Fifteen  minutes  by  car  line  offer  cheap  and  suitable  homes  for  men  with 
families.  For  out  of  town  parties  of  ten  or  more  cheap  transportation  will 
be  arranged.    Only  reliable  men  who  stay  on  their  job  are  wanted.    Apply 


■'i* 
». 


^f*^ 


.5£ 


IS 


NEGRO    MIGRATION    Dl'RrNG   THE    WAR 


burgh,  made  by  Mr.  Abraham  Epstein,  gives  an  idea  of  the 
chJference  m  wages  paid  in  the  North  and  the  South.  His 
findings  may  be  quoted :  "  Tlie  great  mass  of  workers  get  higher 
wages  here  than  m  the  places  from  which  they  come.  Fifty  six 
per  cent  received  less  than  two  dollars  a  day  in  the  South  while 
only  five  per  cent  received  such  wages  in  Pittsburgh."  Sixty- 
two  per  cent  received  between  $2  and  $3  per  day  in  Pittsburgh 
as  compared  with  25  per  cent  in  the  South,  and  28  per  cent 
received  between  $3  and  $.3.00  in  this  city  as  compared  S 
four  per  cent  in  the  South.  ^ 

The  inability  to  educate  their  children  properly  because  of 

he  inadequacy  of  school  facilities  was  another  cause  which  ha 

been  universally  given  f.  r  leaving  the  South.'     The  baS  fo 

this  frequently  voiced  complain^  is  well  set  forth  in  the  study 

of  Negro  Education  by  Dr.  Thomas  Jesse  Jones.^  ^ 

$32.50  per  month  The  tverlzl  nn^K  ^i  to  colored  assistant  teachers  is 
the  avJrage  "urnber\tght'  bfcolZ/is^Joo"'''''  '''"«'^*  ^'  "''''^  ''  ^^  ^"^ 

of  af  s'^'^trwi:;^er,?;L?'i-l.''^^^^^^^^     ■-  ^-  ^■«'^  -'-ois 

school  of  "magnificent  nrooort  nn/"  ,n^  "  ^  u  ?"  .a8"cultural  high 
high  school  and^bout  ten' co^olXed 'school''""'"'   ^'""""•"  '^   '""^^^ 

mu'nXrtCtnSfo  tpu^^J^n^iffi^^''"'''''"^  ^^'^''^  -''-'^  •"  corn- 
sought  to  establish  th^econsolirt^  thnT"..?'  ^''^^  ^hen  they  first 
every  one  must  pay  taxes  tTsu onort  the^^^^^  ""  \^'  *  Provision   that 

pay  large  taxes  refused  because  rywer'denSfth"  h'^'^^'fi  *"7  'L'''"''-'-^  «« 
A  law  was  passed  with  the  nrovisfon  th-ff  .^  '.^e. benefits  of  the  schools, 
in  a  county  superviso/^sdfst?,T-^ght  Sure  o'!!^'''V'r.°^  ^"t'''^^^  ^'^ctors 
tion  to  the  Board  of  Super^soTs  and  w.th  T  °^  1*'"^  '^.''°°'^  °"  P«'- 
would  pay  taxes.  But  negroes  Tre  not  n^^l^fiin''  """^^^'and'ng  that  thev 
have  no  schools.  "^groes  are  not  qualified  electors  and  consequently 

a^  h^it^'ZL^SS:  S^^\^^  •-•^'1'  ^"d-  with  courses 
back.  The  negro  school  in  the  same  comrn.nifvY!  '^''°°'  '"^  ^^^^  "'^m 
$25  per  month  and  teaching  over  200  chn^"ren  ThZiT,  ''^t''  «^"ing 
denominational  schools    Tarksnn  Pniw        i  /-        .^^  ^^'^  '"'o  '■""'Re  negro 

.o,,,,p,.i™,,„  ,1,,  SeSr.  ?r°S/i;j  £■"<?,";"  '-°"'*'  "*■''■  •"" 


CAUSES  OF  THE   MIGRATION 


19 


The  inadequacy  of  the  elemetitary  school  system  for  colored  children  is 
indicated  both  by  the  comparisons  of  public  appropriations  already  given 
and  by  the  fact  that  the  attendance  in  both  public  and  private  schools  » 
only  58.1  per  cent  of  the  children  six  to  fourteen  years  of  age.  The  average 
Lgth  of  the  public  school  term  is  less  than  five  months  m  practically  M 
of  the  southern  States.  Most  of  the  school  buildings,  especially  those  m 
the  rural  districts,  are  in  wretched  condition.  There  is  little  '"P"^"^"'"  »"^ 
itile  effort  to  improve  the  schools  or  adapt  their  efforts  to  the  needs  of 
he  community.     The  reports  of  the   State   Departments  of  Georgia  and 

Alabama  indicate  that  70  per  cent  of  the  ->-<»  .»"f "  .^.^^  i'^JJ^t 
or  temporary  certificates,  representing  a  preparation  less  »han  that  usually 
given  in  the  first  eight  elementary  grades.  Investigations  made  by  super- 
?  sors  of  colored  schools  in  other  States  indicate  that  the  P"«ntage  of 
poorly  prepared  colored  teachers  is  almost  as  high  m  the  other  southern 

^*The  supervisor  of  white  elementary  rural  schools  in  one  of  the  States 
recently  wrote  concerning  negro  schools:  "1  never  v.sU  one  of  these 
(negro)  schools  without  feeling  that  we  are  wasting  a  large  part  of  this 
money  and  are  neglecting  a  great  opportunity.  The  -«/°  -'-°  ^J^^^^;! 
miserable  beyond  all  description.  They  are  usually  without  comfort,  equ.p- 
mentpoper  lighting  or  sanitation.  Nearly  all  of  the  negroes  of  schoo  age 
bthe  district  are  crowded  into  these  miserable  structures  during  the  short 
urm  wWch  the  school  runs.  Most  of  the  teachers  are  absolutely  untrained 
and  hlv  be  n  given  certificates  by  the  county  board,  not  because  they  have 
passed  the  examination,  but  because  it  is  necessary  to  have  -me  kind  of 
Tgro  t  acher.  Among  the  negro  rural  schools  .;hich  ^ave  visited  have 
foSnd  only  one  in  which  the  highest  class  knew  the  multiplication  table. 

The  treatment  vhich  the  negroes  received  at  the  hands  of 
the  courts  and  the  guardians  of  the  peace  constituted  another 
cause  of  the  migration.     Negroes  largely  distrust  the  courts 
and  have  to  depend  on  the  influence  of  their  aristocratic  white 
friends.     When  a  white  man  assaults  a  negro  he  is  not  pun- 
ished     When  a  white  man  kills  a  negro  he  is  usually  freed 
without  extended  legal  proceedings,  but  the  rule  as  laid  down 
by  the  southern  judge  is  usually  that  when  a  "cgro  kills  a  white 
man.  whether  or  not  in  self-defense,  the  negro  must  die.    Negro 
witnesses   count    for   nothing   except   when   testifying   against 
members  of  their  own  race.     The  testimony  of  a  white  man 
is  conclusive  in  every  instance.     In  no  State  of  the  South  can 
a  negro  woman  get  a  verdict  for  seduction,  nor  m  most  cases 
enter  a  suit  against  a  white  man;  nor,  where  a  white  man  is 
concerned,  is  the  law  of  consent  made  to  apply  to  a  negro  girl. 


A 


-'>  NKGRO    MIGRATION    IHRING    THK    WAR 

It  will  be  said,  however,  that  such  drastic  action  is  not  gen- 
eral m  the  South;  but  throughout  the  Black  Belt  the  negroes 
suffer  trnm  arrests  and  impositions  for  j.ettv  offenses  which  make 
their  lives  sometimes  miserable.     The  large  number  of  negroes 
owning  automobiles  is  a  source  of  many  conflicts.     Many  col- 
lisions, possibly  avoidable,  have  resulted  in  wresting  from  the 
negroes  concerned  excessive  damages  which  go  to  increase  the 
returns  of  the  courts.     For  example,  the  chauffeur  of  „ne  of 
the  most  influential  negroes  in  Mississippi  collided  with  a  white 
man's  car.    Although  there  was  sufficient  evidence  to  exonerate 
the  chauffeur  concerned,  the  owner  of  the  vehicle  was  forced 
to  pay  damages  and  sell  his  car.* 

In  the  Birmingham  district  of  Alabama  a  striking  discrimi- 
nation  ,s  made  in  the  arrests  for  failure  to  pay  the  street  t.x 
Mr    Henry  L.  Badham.  President  of  the  Bessemer  Coal    Iron 
and  Land  Company,  said  in  commenting  on  the  causes  of  the 
migration  : 

I  do  not  blame  the  negroes   for  going  away   from   Biminahan,      ru 
treatment  that  these  unfortunate  negroes  are  Jece  vZ  from  tS       r 
enough  ,on,ake  them  desire  to  deparf.    The  n^il^Zf  hlTpHn  edt"d^^^^ 
about  the  departure  of  the  laborers  from  Birmingham.     C,  onriaL  ther. 
.s  a  story  to  the  effect  that  some.hmg  should  be  done  to  pr  vent  the  exodus 
of    he  negroes  to  other  cities.     A.d  then  on  the  same  page  there  a^ts 

street taT'rt  T7  ''''.  "^^^'"•^  ^"^  "''''^''  ^^   '^''"-  »  ^P^  S 
have y^n      T,  '         '   °^   '""''"«  '^^'^  "^K'""    ^OT   the   inabihty   to 

?hev  £f  r\l  •""  °'"  '"*°  '^'  '''"'''  °f  '^'  ^i»y  i^  obvious.    Whi  e 
hey  have  bec-n  taken  .nto  custody,  despite  their  protests  that  they  mere  v 

S^'no"  seV:har"lr°""'  ^'  """^^  "■^'^  "'''^'•''^  --'  .he  demLryou 
^  not   see   that   white   men   are  arrested   for  the   failure   to   pav   the   tVv 

s^  e'eTs  wh"  r'"""""  ^"f  '"*  '''''  •'^^■■^  =>-  '"--"-^^  °^  men'w'^lW  ,g\l- 
streets  who  have  not  pa.d  a  similar  sum  into  the  treasury  of  the  citv  The 
negroes  ought  to  get  a  square  deal.  When  he  is  without  fund  you  can  not 
shrnoi::;.,-  ::=   ''-  -"^  -""  -^^  -  ^  —  reliable.^7aT,e"a:; 

The  fee  system  in  the  courts  of  the  South  is  one  of  the 
most  effective  causes  of  the  migration.  The  employers  of  labor 
fought  this  system  for  eight  years  and  finally  got  it  abolished 
m  Jefferson  county.  Alabama.     Under  this  system  the  sherifl 


CAUSES  OF   THE   MIGRATION  21 

received  a  fee  for  feeding  all  prisoners.  The  greater  the  num- 
ber of  prisoners,  the  greater  would  be  the  income  for  the  sheriff's 
office.  As  a  result,  it  became  customary  in  Jefferson  county, 
Alabama,  to  arrest  negroes  in  large  numbers.  Deputy  sheriffs 
would  go  out  to  mining  camps  where  there  were  large  numbers 
of  laborers  and  bring  back  fifty  or  more  negroes  at  a  time. 
This  condition  became  unbearable  both  to  the  employer  and 
to  the  employe.  Calling  attention  to  the  evil  of  this  fee  system. 
Dr.  \V.  H.  Gates.  Stste  Prison  Inspector,  said  in  his  annual 
report  for  1!»14: ' 

The  vile,  pernicious,  pervading  fee  system  beggars  description  and  my 
vocabulary  is  inadequate  to  describe  its  deleterious  and  baneful  effects.  It 
increases  in  the  management  of  our  jails  greed  for  the  almighty  dollar. 
Prisoners  are  arrested  because  of  the  dollar  and,  shame  to  say.  are  fre- 
quently kept  in  captivity  for  months  in  steel  cages  for  no  other  reason  than 
the  almighty  dollar. 

During  the  fiscal  year  ending  September  30.  1917.  Jefferson 
county  had  (i.OOO  prisoners  as  follows: 

In  jail  at  the  beginning  of  the  year 328 

Incarcerated  during  the  year : 

White  men    1.289 

Negro  men   3,636 

White   women    118 

Negro  women   969 

Total     6,340 

The  fee  bill,  according  to  the  sheriff's  annual  report  of  this 
department  was  $;57.08S.!)O.  As  the  law  provided  that  for 
each  prisoner  the  sheriff  shall  receive  30  cents  a  day  for  feed- 
ing, and  as  a  matter  of  fact  the  sheriff  fed  them  for  10  cents 
a  day,  it  is  clear  that  he  made  a  net  profit  of  $25,125.94  during 
one  fiscal  year  or  at  the  same  rate  for  his  term  of  four  years. 
.$100,503.76.= 

Another  frequent  complaint  was  directed  against  the  accom- 
modations for  travel.  It  generally  happens  that  the  cars  are 
crowded  because  the  amount  of  space  allotted  is  insufficient,  and 

»  .Annual  Report  of  the  Prison  Inspector  of  .\labama,  1914 
^  Report  of  the  Sheriff  of  Jeffersop  County,  .Mabama,  191/. 


22 


NKCRO    MIGRATION    DIRIXO    THK    WAR 


nepn.es  as  a  class  are  (lenied  accommodation  in  sleeping  and 
dining  cars.     Usually  there  is  but  one  toilet  for  both  sexes  and 
the  waiting  rooms  at  stations  are  cut  off.  unclean  and  insani- 
tary.    Then  there  are  numerous  petty  offenses,  which  in  them- 
selves appear  trifling,  hut  which  are  siM)ken  of  as  being  on  the 
whole  c»)nsidera!)ly  annoying.    White  men  are  permitted  to  come 
into  the  negroes'  part  of  the  coach  and  entertain  the  conductor, 
newsboy  atid  flagman,  all  of  whom  usually  make  their  headcjuar- 
ters  there.     The  drunkards,  the  insane  and  other  undesirables 
are  forced  into  this  comparment  among  negro  women  who  have 
to  listen  to  oaths  and  vulgar  utterances.     In  stopping  at  some 
points,  the  trains  halt  the  negro  car  in  muddy  and  abominably 
disagreeable  places;  the  rudeness  and   incivility  of  the  public 
servants  are  ever  apparent,  and  at  the  stations  the  negroes  must 
wait  at  a  separate  window  until  every  white  passenger  has  pur- 
chased a  ticket  before  he  is  waited  on,  although  he  may  be  de- 
layed long  enough  to  miss  the  train. 

Both  whites  and  negroes  in  mentioning  the  reasons  for  the 
movement  generally  give  lynching  as  one  of  the  most  important 
causes  and  .tate  that  the  fear  of  the  mob  has  greatly  accelerated 
the  exotlus.  Xegroes  in  Florida  gave  as  their  reason  for  going 
north  the  horrible  lynchings  in  Tennessee.  The  white  press 
in  Georgia  maintained  that  lynchings  were  driving  the  negroes 
in  large  numbers  from  that  State.  A  careful  study  of  the 
movement,  however,  shows  that  bad  treatment  by  representa- 
tives of  the  law  caused  almost  as  many  negroes  to  leave  the 
South  as  lynchings.  for,  whereas  lynchings  were  more  or  less 
sporadic,  persecutions  and  mistreatment  by  representatives  of 
the  law  were  trials  which  all  negroes  had  continually  to  bear 
and  from  which  they  were  anxious  to  escape.* 

Many  of  these  causes  then  have  their  origin  on  the  one  hand 
in  the  attitude  which  the  South  assumes  toward  the  negro  as 
expressed  in  law  and  public  opinion,  and  on  the  other  hand 
in  the  feeling  of  the  negro  toward  the  South  because  of  the 
treatment  given  him.  A  negro  educator  of  Mississippi  sought 
to  explain  the  situation,  saying: 

»  Work  and  Johnson,  Rcfort  on  the  Migration  during  the  World  War. 


CAUSES  OF   THE   MIGRATION 


23 


Many  white  men  of  high  intellectual  ability  and  keen  discernment  have 
mistaken  the  negroes'  silence  for  contentment,  his  facial  expression  for 
satisfaction  at  prevailing  conditions,  and  his  songs  and  jovial  air  for  happi- 
ncs8.»  But  this  is  not  always  so.  These  are  his  methods  of  bearing  trouble 
and  keeping  his  soul  sweet  under  seeming  wrongs.  In  the  absence  of  a 
spokesman  or  means  of  communication  with  the  whites  over  imagined 
grievances,  he  has  brightened  his  countenance,  smiled  and  sung  to  ease  his 
mind.  In  the  midst  of  it  all  he  is  unable  to  harmonize  with  the  practices  of 
daily  life  the  teachings  of  the  Bible  which  the  white  Christian  placed  in 
his  hands.  He  finds  it  difficult  to  harmonize  the  fatherhood  of  God  and 
the  brotherhood  of  man.  and  his  faith  is  put  to  the  test  in  the  Providence 
which  enslaved  his  ancestors,  corrupted  his  blood  and  placed  upon  him 
stigmas  more  damaging  than  to  be  a  leper  or  convict  by  making  his  color 
a  badge  of  infamy  and  his  preordained  social  position  at  the  bottom  of 
human  society.  So  firmly  has  his  status  been  fixed  by  this  Providence  that 
neither  moral  worth,  fidelity  to  trust,  love  of  home,  loyalty  to  country,  or 
faith  in  God  can  raise  him  to  human  recognition. 

When  he  remembers  that  he  has  been  the  beast  of  burden  of  southern 
civilization  and  the  foundation  of  its  luxuriant  ease,  when  he  rehearses  to 
his  children  that  he  was  the  Souths  sole  dependence  when  his  master  was 
away  repelling  hostile  armies,  and  how  he  worked  by  day  and  guarded  his 
unprotected  mistress  and  her  children  at  night,  or  accompanied  his  master 
to  the  swamps  of  Virginia  and  the  Carolinas  and  bound  up  his  wounds  or 
brought  his  maimed  or  dead  body  home  on  his  shoulders,  these  children 
can  not  understand  the  attitude  of  the  South  toward  them.  They  do  not 
understand  why  they  have  not  been  educated  to  efficiency  and  employed  to 
the  best  interest  of  the  South.  They  do  not  understand  why  they  have  not 
been  given  better  living  conditions,  a  more  equitable  division  of  funds  appro- 
priated for  the  education  of  the  youth,  nor  provisions  made  for  their  higher 
or  professional  training,  or  why  so  much  prejudice  is  engendered  in  the 
practice  of  these  professions  among  their  own  people.  They  do  not  under- 
stand why  they  have  been  made  to  toil  at  starvation  wages  and  to  pay 
heavy  fines  and  suffer  long  prison  sentences  for  stealing  food  and  clothing. 
They  do  not  understand  why  no  estimate  is  placed  upon  negro  virtue  and 
the  full  rights  of  citizenship  are  denied  to  negroes  of  education,  character 
and  worth.  If  some  mysterious  Providence  has  ordain-d  that  they  support 
themselves  and  employers  by  farming,  they  do  not  understand  why  they  are 
deprived  of  agricultural  schools.  They  do  not  see  why  mere  prejudice 
would  prevent  them  from  obtaining  a  square  deal  when  contending  for  the 

1  Mr   Charles  S.  Johnson  rerorts  the  following  from  Mississippi :  . 

"The  Dolice  of  most  of  the  cities  are  rough  and  indiscriminate  in  their 
treatment  of  negroes.     At  the  depot  during  the  summer,  on  «veral  occa- 
sions, negro  porters  were  severely  beaten  by  policemen   for  trivial  reasons 
This,  it  was  said,  started  a  stream  O:   ^oung  men  that  cleaned  the  town  of 

''""Tee  constables  made  their  living  from  arresting  negroes,  indiscriminately, 
on  trivial  charges.  A  white  man.  to  whom  a  prominent  negro  physician  had 
gone  for  advice  on  a  case  concerning  his  arrest  on  a  charge  «*  having  no 
lights  on  his  automobile,  said,  'HI  were  a  negro,  I  would  rather  appear 
before  a  Russian  court  than  come  before  a  court  here  for  trial. 


7 


'■IS 


24 


NKC.RO    MIGRATION    DIKINC.    THK    WAR 


possessions  of  life,  liberty  and  prop<rly.  1  hey  do  not  understand  why 
they  are  not  protected  troni  petty  peace  ofticers  in  soarch  of  fees  and  from 
mol.s  while  in  the  hands  of  orticers  of  the  law.  Finally,  they  do  not  under- 
stand why  there  is  so  little  genuine  sympathy  and  brotherhood  between 
them  and  the  only  people  they  know -the  people  whose  laiiKiiUKc  and  cus 
toms  they  use.  under  whose  laws  ihey  live,  whose  Bible  they  read,  whose 
God  they  serve.  These  thouKhts  possessed  the  negroes"  mind  when,  twelve 
months  ago,  the  boll  weevil  and  rains  destroyed  the  crops  in  the  South 
and  the  European  war  was  calling  foreigners  from  field  and  factory  in  the 
North.' 


Diif  should  hear  in  mind  that  the  two  generations  of  negroes 
living  in  the  South  are  affected  differently  hy  the  measure.s  of 
control  of  the  wliites.  and  in  many  cases  respond  differently  to 
treatment  received.     'Ihe  oUler  generation  of  whites  and  hiacks 
avoided  nnich  friction  hv  a  sort  of  mutual  understanding.    The 
children  of  colored  and  white  parents  come  less  frequently  into 
friendly  contact  and    tind   it  difficult   to   live  together  on  the 
terms  accepted  by  their  fathers,     \egro  parents  appreciate  this 
situation   but.   aitliough   admitting  that   they  can   tolerate   the 
position  to  which  they  are  assigned,  they  do  not  welcome  such 
an  arrangement  for  their  children.     For  this  reason  they  are 
not  reluctant  to  send  their  sons  away  from  home.     Should  the 
children  remain  there,  they  live  in  a  state  of  anxiety  for  their 
safety.      They   would   not  have   them   grow   up  as   they,   en- 
comi)assed  by  restraints,  and  the  young  men  themselves  appear 
to  entertain  toward  the  prevailing  system  a  more  aggressive 
hostility. 

A  woman  of  color  in  Greenville.  Mississippi,  for  example, 
had  a  son  in  a  northern  State  and  was  afraid  to  invite  him 
home  to  pay  a  visit  because,  as  she  stated.  "  for  him  to  accept 
the  same  abuses  to  which  we,  his  parents,  are  accustomed,  would 
make  him  much  less  than  the  man  wc  wcnild  have  him  l)e." 
Another  negro,  a  physician,  the  "  Xestor  "  of  his  profc  sion, 
having  practiced  in  his  State  over  thirty-five  years,  said: 

Sir  I  can't  expect  my  son  to  accept  the  treatment  under  which  I  have 
been  brought  up  My  length  of  residence  here  and  the  number  of  friends 
whom  I  know  of  the  older  and  more  aristocratic  type  of  whites  will  protect 

>  Work  and  Johnson,  Report  on  the  Migralum  during  the  World  War. 


CAUSES  OK   THE   MIGRATION 


25 


me,  but  as  for  him,  there  is  no  friendsliip.  Now,  as  for  me,  there  is  no 
reason  why  1  should  leave.  I  am  making  as  much  money  as  I  could 
anywhere  cbe  and  all  of  the  white  people  respect  me.  But  I  am  just  one 
out  of  a  thousand.    The  younger  men  have  neither  my  contact  nor  inHuence. 

A  lawyer  of  remarkable  talent  formerly  of  Mississippi,  now 
living  with  his  children  in  Chicago,  who  had  felt  keenly  this 
humiliation  and  recognized  it  as  one  of  the  motives  behind  his 
change  of  residence,  thus  stated  the  situation: 


One  peculiar  phase  of  the  white  southern  prejudice  it  that  no  matter 
how  well  liked  or  popular  a  colored  man  be  in  any  community,  his  son 
does  not  share  that  popularity  unless  he  enters  a  field  of  endeavor  dis- 
tinctly lower  in  the  scale  than  that  occupied  by  his  parent.  My  experience 
goes  both  ways  on  this  subject.  My  stepfather  was  a  dearly  beloved  colored 
man  of  the  old  school,  but  when  he  sent  me  oflf  to  Oberlin  College  I 
returned  to  find  that  the  community  in  which  I  had  been  beloved  as  a  boy 
in  attendance  at  the  rude  country  school  looked  at  me  askance.  It  took 
twenty  years  to  overcome  the  handicap  of  attempting  to  occupy  a  higher 
sphere  than  that  to  which  the  community  thought  it  right  to  assign  me. 
My  experiences  were  repeated  by  my  son.  He  was  a  well  liked  boy  by 
the  best  people  in  a  city  of  about  twenty-five  thousand,  because  he  was  my 
son  and  was  polite  and  agreeable.  When  he  went  to  a  nearby  Mississippi 
college  and  worked  in  his  summer  vacations  in  a  local  industrial  plant,  they 
still  thought  well  of  him,  but  when  it  was  learned  that  he  was  being  gradu- 
ated at  Oberlin  College,  and  his  picture  appeared  in  a  college  year  book, 
among  others,  my  intimate  white  friends  wanted  to  know  the  necessity  for 
so  much  education  and,  with  a  shrug  of  the  shoulder,  they  let  all  mention 
of  him  drop,  as  if  he  had  offended  the  most  sacred  laws  of  the  community. 
This  spirit  appeared  so  marked  that  I  did  not  have  him  come  back  to  visit 
his  mother  and  me  during  the  summer  vacation.  I  have  seen  the  same  spirit 
in  many  instances.    No  man  can  explain  why  it  is,  but  it  is  so* 

I  Work  and  Johnson,  Report  on  the  Migration  during  the  World  War. 


w 


''    :l 


CHAPTER  HI 
Stimulation  of  the  Movement 

It  is  not  surprising  that  the  exodus  grew  so  contagious  when 
viewed  in  the  light  of  the  numerous  factors  which  played  a  part 
in  influencing  its  extension.  Considering  the  temper  of  the 
South  and  its  attitude  toward  any  attempt  to  reduce  its  lalwr 
supply,  it  is  readily  apparent  that  leaders  who  openly  encour- 
aged the  exodus  would  be  in  personal  danger.  There  were,  of 
course,  some  few  who  did  venture  to  voice  their  M'lei  in  it, 
but  they  were  in  most  cases  speedily  silenced.  A  Methodist 
minister  was  sent  to  jail  because  he  was  said  to  have  been  en- 
ticing laborers  to  go  north  and  work  for  a  New  York  firm, 
which  would  give  employment  to  fifty  of  his  people.  The  tactics 
adopted  by  influential  persons  who  favored  the  movement,  there- 
fore, were  of  necessity  covert  and  very  much  guarded. 

One  of  the  chief  stimuli  was  discussion.  The  very  fact  that 
negroes  were  leaving  in  large  numbers  was  a  disturbing  factor. 
The  talk  in  the  barber  shops  and  rrr.'-  -v  store-,  where  men 
were  wont  to  assemble  soon  began  to  take  the  form  of  reasons 
for  leaving.  There  it  was  the  custom  to  review  all  the  instances 
of  mistreatment  and  injustice  which  fell  to  the  lot  of  the  negro 
in  the  South.  It  was  here  also  that  letters  from  the  North  were 
read  and  fresh  news  on  the  exodus  was  first  given  out.  In 
Ilattiesburg,  Mississippi,  it  was  stated  that  for  a  while  there 
was  no  subject  of  discussion  but  the  migration.  "  The  packing 
houses  in  Chicago  for  a  while  seemed  to  Ije  everything."  said 
one  negro.  "  You  could  not  rest  in  your  bed  at  night  for 
Chicago."  Chicago  came  to  be  so  common  a  word  that  they 
began  to  call  it  "  Chi."  Men  went  down  to  talk  with  the 
Chicago  porters  on  the  Gulf  and  Ship  Island  Railroad  which  ran 

26 


STIMULATION   OF  THE   MOVEMENT 


27 


through  the  town.  They  asked  questions  about  the  weather  in 
Chicago.    The  report  was  that  it  was  the  same  as  in  Hattiesburg.' 

In  every  circle  the  advisabiUty  of  leaving  was  debated.  In 
the  churches  the  pastors,  seeing  their  flocits  leaving,  at  first 
attempted  to  dissuade  them.  The  people  refused  to  come  to 
church.  In  tli<-  church  meetings  there  were  verbal  clashes  on 
the  matter  of  the  attitude  toward  the  migration.  Some  fe^r  had 
been  careful  enough  to  go  north  and  investigate  for  themselves 
and  friends.  A  man  learned  of  the  North  through  a  friend 
whose  relatives  wrote  him  from  that  section.  He,  thereupon, 
decided  to  pay  a  visit  r,t  two  wetks,  going  in  August.  The 
attitude  of  the  North  overwhelmed  him.  At  Fulton,  Kentucky, 
while  he  was  on  the  train  a  white  man  was  sitting  in  front  of 
him.  He  wanted  to  ask  him  a  question  but  hesitated  fearing 
that  he  would  be  rebuffed.  He  finally  addressed  the  stranger, 
who  answered  him  courteously  and  kindly,  calling  his  attention 
to  other  points  of  interest  in  the  North.  At  Gary,  Indiana,  he 
met  a  gentleman  who  said  he  had  been  mayor  of  Gary  for 
seven  years.  He  described  the  Gary  school  system  and  prom- 
ised him  an  education  for  his  children.  He  was  assured  em- 
ployment at  $4  a  day  for  eight  hours'  work.' 

A  still  more  powerful,  though  insidious  factor,  was  the  work 
of  public  speakers  who  hid  their  intentions  behind  tfieir  unique 
method  of  presentation.  In  a  lecture  on  the  question  of  migra- 
tion a  speaker,  who  is  a  widely  known  character,  made  these 
remarks : 


So  many  of  my  folks  are  leaving  that  1  thought  I'd  go  up  and  see 
whether  or  not  they  had  made  a  mistake.  I  found  thousands  of  old  friends 
up  there  making  more  money  than  they'd  ever  made  in  their  lives.     I  said 

to  one  woman  in  Chicago,  "  Well,  Sister  ,  I  see  you're  here."     "  Yes, 

Brother  ,  I'm  here,  thank  the  Lord."    "  Do  you  find  it  any  colder  up 

here  than  it  was  in  .Mississippi""  "  I>id  I  understand  you  correctly  to  say 
cold?  Honey.  I  mean  it's  cold.  It  is  some  cold."  "But  you  expect  to 
return,  don't  you?"  "Don't  play  with  me,  chile.  What  am  I  going  to 
return  for?  I  should  say  not.  Up  here  you  see  when  I  come  out  on  the 
street  I  walk  on  nice  smooth  pavements.  Down  home  I  got  to  walk  home 
through  the  mud.     Up  here  at  nights  it  don't  matter  much  about  coming 

*  Johnson,  Report  on  the  Migration  from  Mississippi. 
« Ibid. 


2S 


M.dRO    MICRATIOX    DfRINT.    Till-    WAR 


home   from  church.     Down   home  oti   my   street   thire  amt  a  single  lamp 
post.     And  say.  honey.   1  got  a  bath  tuh !  "  » 

He  related  the  instance  of  his  visit  to  an  automobile  plant 
where  he  was  met  at  the  door  by  a  "  stalwart,  handsome,  six- 
footer  as   black  as  midnight."     He  asked  his  companion  the 
name  of  this  "potentate."     He  was  told  that  this  man  was 
an  experienced  machinist.     Every  car  that  passed  out  of  tl.at 
plant  must  have  his  O.  K.     He  added  further  that  his  salary 
was  something  like  $100  a  week  and  that  the  incident  showed 
the  unlimited  chance   for  expansion  in  the  North.     When  he 
began  to  enumerate  some  of  the  positions  which  "  men  of  th" 
race"  were  holding,  the  audience  became  enthusiastic  beyond 
control.     One  man  in  the  audience,  who  had  been  to  Detroit, 
ciuld  restrain  himself  no  longer  and  stood  up  to  inform  the 
ai'dience  that  there  were  also  colored  street  car  conductors  and 
motormen  and  that  he  had  seen  them  with  his  own  eyes.     The 
speriker  paid  no  attention  to  this  interruption  and  the  audience 
appeared  not  to  notice  it,  but  began  to  exchange  reports  among 
themselves.     The  speaker  added  that  he  had  found  negroes  in 
the  North,  well  dressed  and  looking  like  men— for  the  first  time- 
in   their  lives — men   who  were   simply   '"  i)ums  "   at  home.      In 
excusing  the  indisposition  of  some  negroes  toward  work,  he 
said,  "  How  in  the  world  can  you  expect  a  man  to  work  faith- 
fully all  day  long  for  fifty  cents?  "  ^ 

Among  the  important  stimuli  were  the  rumors  in  circulation. 
When  a  community  is  wrought  up,  it  is  less  difficult  to  Wieve 
remarkable  tales.  To  persons  l)eyond  the  influence  of  this  ex- 
citement it  is  somewhat  difficult  to  conceive  how  the  rumor  that 
the  Germans  were  on  their  way  through  Texas  to  take  the 
southern  States  could  have  been  believed.  And  yet  it  is  re- 
ported that  this  extravagant  fiction  was  taken  seriously  in  some 
quarters.  On  the  outskirts  of  Meridian,  Mississippi,  a  band  of 
gypsies  was  encamped.  The  rumor  gained  circulation  that  the 
Indians  were  coming  back  to  retake  their  land  lost  years  ago. 
It   was   further  rumored   that   the  United   Sta.cs  Government 

'  I<ihnson,   Report  on  the  Mi<iiatioii  frnin  Mississipfi. 
-  ibid. 


STIMULATION    OF   THE    MOVEMENT 


29 


1  ^ 


was  beginning  a  scheme  to  transport  all  negroes  from  the  South 
to  break  up  the  Black  Belt.  Passed  from  mouth  to  mouth,  un- 
restrainedly these  rejwrts  became  verities. 

It  \v  as  further  asserted  on  the  word  and  honor  "  of  one  in 
position  to  know  "  that  the  Chicago  packing  houses  needed  and 
would  get  fifty  thousand  negroes  before  the  end  of  the  year. 
One  explanation  of  the  belief  that  the  South  was  overrun  with 
labor  ar'^nts  was  the  fact  that  every  strange  face  came  to  be 
rccogni;  (1  as  a  man  from  the  North  looking  for' latorers. 
If  he  dt  itfl  it,  they  si-nply  thought  he  was  concealing  his  iden- 
tity frofi'  the  police,  and  if  he  said  nothing,  his  silence  was  re- 
garded as  sufficient  affirmation.  Hundreds  of  disappointments 
are  to  be  traced  to  the  rumor  that  a  train  would  leave  on  a 
certain  date.  Hundreds  would  come  to  the  station  prepared  to 
leave  and,  when  no  agent  appeared,  purchased  their  own  tickets. 

The  questions  of  wages  and  privileges  were  grossly  featured. 
Some  men.  on  being  questioned,  supposed  that  it  was  possible 
for  every  common  laborer  to  receive  from  $4  to  $10  a  day,  and 
that  $50  a  week  was  not  an  unusual  wage.  The  strength  of  this 
belief  has  been  remarked  by  several  social  agencies  in  the  North 
which  attempted  to  supply  the  immigrants  with  work.  The 
actual  wages  paid,  though  much  in  excess  of  those  they  had 
been  receiving,  were  often  disappointing.  Similarly  in  the  mat- 
ter of  privilege  and  "  rights "  it  was  later  revealed  that  un- 
bounded liberty  was  not  to  be  found  in  the  North.  The  singular 
cases  of  misconduct,  against  which  the  more  sober  minded 
preached,  possibly  had  their  root  in  the  beautiful  and  one-sided 
pictures  of  the  North  which  came  to  the  South. 

The  Chicago  Defender,  a  weekly  negro  newspaper,  with  its 
pronounced  radical  utterances,  its  criticism  of  the  South,  its 
policy  of  retaliation,  etc.,  contributed  greatly  to  the  exodus.' 


m 


m 


'  Some  of  the  material  prepared  by  the  Defender  for  consumption  in  the 
South  was  as  follows : 

"  Turn  a  deaf  ear  to  everybody.  You  see  they  are  not  lifting  their  laws 
to  help  you,  are  they?  Have  they  si  pped  their  Jim  Crow  cars?  Can  you 
buy  a  Pullman  sleeper  where  you  wish?  Will  they  give  you  a  square  deal 
in  court  yet?  When  a  girl  is  sent  to  prison  she  becomes  the  mistress  of  the 
guards  and  others  in  authority,  and  women  prisoners  are  put  on  the  streets 
to  work — something  they   don't   do   to  a   wjiite   vvoman.     And   our  leaders 


.'50 


NEGRO    MIGRATION    DURING    THE    WAR 


Its  influence  can  he  imagined  when,  after  reading  the  southern 
white  papers  with  only  occasional  references  to  t!  ;  negroes 
which  might  l)e  called  commendable  and  numerous  articles  which 
were  for  the  most  part  distasteful,  negroes  could  read  the  things 
they  wanted  to  hjar  most,  expressed  in  a  manner  in  which  they 
would  not  dare  .'xpress  them.  It  voiced  the  unexi)ressed  thoughts 
of  many  and  made  accusations  for  which  they  themselves  would 
have  l)een  severely  handled.  Freud's  theory  of  the  suppressed 
wish  finds  a  happy  illustration  in  this  rage  over  the  Chicago  De- 
fender. Expressed  in  terms  of  figures,  the  circulation  of  the 
paper  at  the  beginning  of  the  movement  was  something  like 
r)0.(K)«).  In  litis  it  had  grown  to  12r).(>G0.  It  had  a  large  cir- 
culation in  Mississippi  and  the  supply  was  usually  bought  up 
on  the  first  day  of  its  arrival.  Copies  were  passed  around  until 
worn  out.  One  prominent  negro  asserted  that  "  negroes  grab 
the  Defender  like  a  hungry  mule  grabs  fodder."  In  Gulfport. 
:\Iississippi,  a  man  was  regarded  "intelligent"  if  he  read  the 
Defender.  It  was  said  that  in  Laurel.  Mississippi,  old  men  who 
did  not  know  how  to  read  would  buy  it  because  it  was  regarded 
as  precious. 

It  was  this  paper  that  named  the  exodus  "  The  Great  Northern 
Drive,"  and  set  the  date  May  15th,  announced  the  arrivals  and 
took  responsibility  for  inducing  "the  poor  brethren"  from 
the  South.  It  was  ace  :sed  of  ruining  Hattiesburg,  Mississippi, 
by  promoting  this  rush  to  the  North.  The  sale  of  this  paper 
was.  therefore,  forbidden  in  several  towns  in  the  South.  A 
correspondent  said :  "  White  people  are  paying  more  attention 
to  the  race  in  order  to  keep  them  in  the  South,  but  the  Chicago 
Defender  has  emblazoned  upon  their  minds  'Bound  for  the 
Promised  Land.' " 


will  tell  you  the  South  IS  the  best  place  for  you.  Turn  a  deaf  ear  to  the 
scoundrel,  and  le  hini  stay.  Above  all,  see  to  it  that  that  jumpinR-jack 
preacher  .s  left  ,n  the  South,  for  he  means  you  no  good 'here  ^ 'the 
North.  .  .  .  Once  upon  a  time  we  permitted  other  people  to  think  for  us- 
to.lay  vve  are  thmkmg  and  acting  for  ourselves,  with  the  result  that  our 
„nJ.Tfii  A'f  ^^'V""  ^'••''■"'<^^.  «t  ,o"r  progress.  We'd  like  to  oblige  these 
unselfish  (?)  souls  and  remain  slaves  in  the  South:  but  to  other  sections 
of  the  country  we  have  said,  as  the  song  goes.  '  I  hear  you  caH  nj  me'  and 
have  boarded  the  train,  singing.  '  Good-bye,  Di.xie  Land/  " 


STIMULATION    OK   THE   MOVEMENT 


31 


In  answer  to  the  warnings  of  the  South  against  the  rigors  of 
the  northern  winters,  the  Defender  said: 

To  die  from  the  bite  of  frost  is  far  more  glorious  than  at  the  hands  of  a 
mi  b.  I  beg  you,  my  brother,  to  leave  the  benighted  land.  Vou  are  a  free 
mail!  Show  the  world  that  you  will  not  let  false  leaders  lead  you.  Your  neck 
has  been  in  the  yoke.  Will  you  continue  to  keep  it  there  because  some  -  white 
folks'  nigger"  wants  you  to?  Leave  for  all  quarters  of  the  globe.  Get  out 
of  the  South.  Your  being  there  in  the  numbers  in  which  you  are  gives  the 
southern  politician  too  strong  a  hold  on  your  progress.  ...  So  much  has 
been  said  through  the  white  papers  in  the  South  abeut  the  members  of  the 
race  freezing  to  death  in  the  North.  They  freeze  to  death  down  South 
when  they  don't  take  care  of  themselves.  There  is  no  reason  for  any  human 
being  staying  in  the  Southland  on  this  bugaboo  handed  out  by  the  white 

press.* 

If  you  can  freeze  to  death  in  the  North  and  be  free,  why  freeze  to  death 
in  the  South  and  be  a  slave,  where  your  mother,  sister  and  daughter  are 
raped  and  burned  at  the  stake;  where  your  father,  brother  and  sons  are 
treated  with  contempt  and  hung  to  a  pole,  riddi«.d  with  bullets  at  the  least 
mention  that  he  does  not  like  the  way  he  is  treated.  Come  North  then,  all 
you  folks,  both  good  and  bad.  If  you  don't  behave  yourselves  up  here,  the 
jails  will  certainly  make  you  wish  you  had.  For  the  hard-working  man 
there  is  plenty  of  work— if  you  really  want  it.    The  Defender  says  come.^ 

1  The  following  clippings  are  taker,  from  these  white  papers : 

"  Aged  Negro  Frozen  to  Death— Albany,  Ga.,  February  8.  ,        .  • 

"  Yesterday  the  dead  body  of  Peter  Crowder,  an  old  negro,  was  found  m 

an  out-of-the-way  place  where  he  had  been  frozen  to  death  durmg  the  recent 

cold  snap." — Macon  Telegraph. 
"  Dies  from  Exposure— Snartanburg,  S.  C,  February  6.        ,  .    „    „ 
"Marshall  Jackson,  a  negro  man,  who  lived  on  the  farm  of  J.   1.  liarns 

near  Campobello,  Sunday  night  froze  to  death."— 5o«<li  Carolina  State. 
"  Neg'O  Frozen  to  Death  in  Fireless  Gretna  Hut. 
"Colde<;t  weather  in  the  last  four  years  claimed  a  victim  Friday  night. 

when  Archie  Williams,  a  negro,  was  frozen  to  death  in  his  bed  m  a  little 

hut  in  the  outskirts  of  Gi  etna."— AT^w  Orleans  Item,  February  4. 

"  Negro  W^oman  Frozen  to  Death  Monday.  ,      .    •    .       u 

"  Harrie  Tolbert,  an  aged  negro  woman,  was  frozen  to  death  m  her  home 
at  18  Garibaldi  Street  early  Monday  morning  during  the  severe  cold.  — 
Atlanta  Constitution.  February  6.  •  •      r  ...  j 

-  Articles  such  as  the  following  kept  alive  the  spirit  of  the  exodus . 

"  Tampa,  Florida,  January  19.  J.  T.  King,  supposed  to  be  a  race  leader, 
is  using  his  wits  to  get  on  the  good  side  of  the  white  people  by  calling  a 
meeting  to  urge  our  people  not  to  migrate  north.  Ring  has  been  terined 
a  '  good  nigger  *  by  his  pernicious  activity  on  tlie  emigration  question.  Re- 
ports have  been  received  here  that  all  who  have  gone  north  are  at  \vork 
and  pleased  with  the  splendid  conditions  in  the  North.  It  is  known  here 
that  in  the  North  there  is  a  scarcity  of  labor ;  mills  and  factories  are  open 
to  them.  People  are  not  paying  any  attention  to  King  and  are  packing  and 
ready  to  travel  north  to  the  '  promised  land.' " 

"Jackson.  Miss.,  March  23.  J.  H.  Thomas,  Birmingham,  Alabama,  Browris- 
vilW  Colony,  has  been  here  several  weeks  and  is  very  much  pleased  with 


!|| 


32 


Xr.C.RO    MIGRATION'    OrRINT.    THK    WAR 


Tlic  idea  that  the  South  is  a  Iiad  place,  unfit  tor  the  habitation 
of  colored  folk,  was  duly  emphasized.  Conditions  most  dis- 
tasteful to  neproes  were  exaggerated  and  given  fir^t  prominence. 
In  this  the  Defender  had  a  clear  f^eld.  for  tl  cal  colnred 
newspapers  dared  not  make  such  unrestrained      .crauces.'     In 

the  N'""!'.     He  is  jvorking  at  the  Piilln,;.,,  Shops,  making  twio'  as  nuicl;  as 
e  ,lKl  at  home      >lr    Thomas  says  th.    exodus'  will  he  snatcr  later  on  in 
the  vear.  that  he  ,h<I  not  hn,    four  feet  of  snow  or  would  freeze  to  death 
He  hves  at  346  Last  Tliirty-hfth  St. ' 

,  '.' "f'll'V'"''-  ■•^'?''='".'"'*'  J?.""">'  l'-  Fifteen  families,  all  members  of  the 
race  left  here  today  tor  I'.ttsbiirKh,  Pa,  where  they  will  take  positions  as 
bit  lers  and  maids.  Kettmg  si.xtv  to  .sevcnty-tive  dollars  a  month  aga.nst 
fifteen  and  twenty  pa.d  here.  .Most  of  them  claim  that  thcv  have  letters 
trom  their  friends  who  went  early  and  ma.le  good  saying  that  there  was 
I-Ienty  of  work,  an<l  this  field  of  labor  is  short  owing  to  the  vast  amoun  of 
men  having  gone  to  Europe  and  not  returned."  amouni  oi 

•'  Shreveport.  La.,  .April  13.  The  Business  Men's  League  held  a  meetinjr 
here  and  the  white  daily  papers  reported  that  it  was  for  the  purpose  of 
discouraging  people  from  going  north.  The  meeting  had  no  such  object  On 
the  o  her  hand,  members  of  the  race  claim  that  on  .May  ISth  thev  w  11  be 
found  leaving  with  the  great  northein  drive." 

"The  northern  invasion  has  already  started,  much  earlier  than  predicted 
Many  members  of  the  race  refused  to  wait  until  .spring.  Thev  have  started 
despite  the  snow  and  cod  Last  .v.ek  thirty-one  came  here  from  HaU.es- 
burg.  .Mississippi,  and  said  they  intended  to  stay.  They  were  well  clothed 
having  heavy  overcoats  and  rubber  overshoes."  >-ioinea, 

".Meniphis    Tenn.,  June   \.     Your  correspondent  took  a  walk  to  Central 

Tn^H'Ti,  IT?"^'  "'^'"  '^'^  '?  r'^  ^\''^'  *«^  going  on,  and  to  his  surpr  se 
and  dehgh  ,  he  saw  gathered  there  between  1,500  and  2,000  ra<?e  men  and 
women.  Number  4,  <lue  to  leave  for  Chicago  at  8:00  o'clock,  was  held  up 
wenty  mimi  es  .so  that  those  people  who  hadn't  purchased  tickets  might  be 
taken  aboard.  It  was  necessary  to  add  two  additional  eightv- foot  steel 
coaches  to  the  Chicago  train  in  order  to  accommodate  the  race 'people,  "and 
at  the  lowest  calculation  there  were  more  than  1,200  taken  aboard  " 

the  ^Sonth''u.h^l')"  ,i'^^  11-  The  Dr/r«rf,-r  propaganda  to  leave  sections  of 
the  South  where  they  find  conditions  intolerable  is  receiving  a  heartv 
response.  .\  communication  wa.s  received  by  a  Defender  representative  last 
week  from  Houston,  Texas,  asking  for  information  relative  to  co  ditions 
r.v^H'  ^  ^"'l  ""!.  '■'''^'  V^'"''  *  ""'"•'"  «^  P"^^"''  were  planning  to 
cheerf"lv"grJen  •■'  '"-'  '"'"  °"-     '^^'  i"fo--n'atio„  was  promptly \nd 

"Tallulah,  La.,  January   19.     This  time  it's  a  professor.     Heretofore   it 
has  been  the  preachers  who  have  been  paid  by  the  white  men  of  the  South 
,      »°"'"/' «^''  "'^^  ?•'"  •^°"''  '"  "°  P'««  ^o--  them.     A  bigger  ife  never 

o  hoTdTliitle  $3s"?oVns",'h''T''"''S'-  ^'^  i^  "^"^j"*^  '^'  whiffmaiVs  hand 
o  nold  a  httle  $35  job  as  a  backwoods  school  teacher.     He  got  his  name  in 

esso'l-^-T/s  h^''"'^  t;'"     R"°d   "iBK"/.     Just   because    this    'would-  e   pro 
fessor    has  been  making  speeches,  asking  that  our  people  remain  here  and 


STIMl-I-ATION    OK    THE    MOVEMF.NT 


33 


fact,  reading  the  Chicago  Defender  provided  a  very  good  sub- 
stitute for  the  knowledge  which  comes  through  travel.  It  had 
the  advantage  of  bringing  the  North  to  them.  Without  fear 
of  exaggeration  it  is  safe  to  say  its  policy  was  successful  in 
inciting  thousands  of  restless  negroes  to  venture  north,  where 
they  were  assured  of  its  prt)tection  and  the  championship  of  their 
cause.  There  are  in  Chicago  migrants  who  attribute  their  pres- 
ence in  the  North  to  its  encouraging  pictures  of  relief  from 
conditions  at  home  with  which  they  became  more  and  more 
dissatisfied,  as  they  read. 

The  setting  of  a  definite  date  was  another  stimulus.  The 
great  northern  drive  was  scheduled  to  begin  May  15,  1917. 
This  date,  or  the  week  following,  singularly  corresponds  with 
the  date  of  the  heaviest  rush  to  the  North,  the  periods  of  greatest 
temporary  congestion  and  the  awakening  of  the  North  to  the 
presence  of  their  guests.  Letters  to  the  Chicago  Defender  and 
to  the  social  agencies  in  the  North  informed  them  that  they 
were  preparing  to  come  in  the  great  drive.  One  of  many  such 
letters  received  is  presented. 

April  24,  1917. 

Mr.  R.  S.  .Abbott, 

Editor,  the  Chicago  Defender. 
Sir: 

I  have  been  reading  the  Defender  for  one  year  or  more,  and  last  February 
I  read  about  the  great  northern  drive  to  take  place  May  IS,  on  Thursday, 
and  now  1  can  hear  so  many  people  speaking  of  ?n  excursion  to  the  North 
on  the  15th  of  May  for  $3.  My  husband  is  in  the  North  already  working, 
and  he  wants  us  to  come  up  in  May,  so  I  want  to  know  if  it  is  true  about 
the  excursion.  1  am  getting  ready  and,  oh.  so  many  others  also,  and  we 
want  to  know  is  that  true  so  we  can  be  in  the  drive.  So  please  answer  at 
once.    We  are  getting  ready. 

Yours, 

This  was  perhaps  the  most  popular  date,  but  there  were  others, 
of  which  August  15  was  one.  Usually  the  dates  set  were,  for 
Wednesday  and  Saturday  nights,  following  pay  days. 

refused  to  stand  for  it,  he  was  whipped  to  death  with  a  '  black  snake '  wjiip. 
The  trial  of  Smith  is  attracting  very  little  attention.  .As  a  matter  ot  tact, 
the  white  people  here  think  nothing  of  !t  as  the  dead  man  is  a  nigger. 
This  very  act.  coupled  with  other  recent  outrages  that  have  been  heaped 
upon  our  people,  are  causing  thousands  to  leave,  not  waiting  for  the  great 
spring  movement  in  May." 


m 

I 

i 
I 

m 


'^1 


34 


NEGRO    MIGRATION    DURING    THE    WAR 


Personal  appeals  in  the   form  of  letters  have  a  recognized 
weight  in  influencing  action.    The  United  States  mail  was  aix)ut 
the  most  active  and  efficient  labor  agent.    The  manner  in  which 
the  first  negroes  left  made  great  opportunities  for  letter  writing. 
It  is  to  I)e  remembered  that  the  departurt  of  one  person  was  re- 
garded always  in  the  light  of  an  experiment.    The  understanding 
existed  between  a  man  and  his  friends  that  he  would  honestly 
inform  them  of  conditions  in  the  North.     Letters  were  passed 
around  and  read  before  large  groups.    A  woman  from  Ilatties- 
burg  is  accredited  with  having  sent  back  a  letter  which  enticed 
away  over  i'0(»  persons.     A  tailor  who  had  settled  in  a  town 
of  white  people  in  the  West  wrote  a  letter  which  was  read  in 
a  church.     It  explained  the  advantages  of  the  free  schools  open 
to  all.  and  the  privilege  to  ride  and  to  go  where  one  pleases. 
The  reading  of  the  letter  brought  forth  long  and  l.nul  applause. 
A  man  who  had  left  home,  writes  back  to  his  friend  yet  un- 
decided : 


Mike,  old  boy,  I  u-as  promoted  on  tlie  first  of  the  month.  I  was  made 
first  assistant  to  the  head  carpenter.  When  he  is  out  of  place  I  take  evcry- 
thmg  m  cliarge  and  was  raised  to  $95  per  month.  Vou  know  I  know  my 
stuff.  What's  the  news  generally  around  H'burg?  1  should  have  been 
here  twenty  years  ago.  I  just  begin  to  feel  like  a  man.  It's  a  great  deal 
of  pleasure  in  knowing  that  you  have  got  some  privileges.  My  children  are 
going  to  the  same  school  with  the  whites  and  I  don't  have  'to  humble  to 
no  one.  I  have  registered.  Will  vote  the  next  election  and  there  isn't  any 
yes,  sir,  and  no,  sir.'    It's  all  yes  and  no,  and  no,  Sam,  and  Bill. 

The  man  has  long  since  been  joined  by  his  friend. 

The  pastor  of  a  Hattiesburg  church  received  a  letter  from 
one  of  his  members  with  the  extravagant  assertion  that  the 
people  whose  funerals  he  had  preached  were  in  Chicago  (mean- 
ing Heaven)  because  they  were  good  Christians.  To  give  as- 
surance on  the  question  of  weather  migrants  in  the  North  would 
mention  the  fact  that  they  were  writing  with  their  coats  oflF. 
A  fact  which  strengthened  the  Ijelief  in  the  almost  incredible 
wages  offered  in  the  North  was  the  money  sent  back  to  the 
families  in  the  South.  A  man  whose  wife  had  preceded  him 
wrote  that  she  was  making  S:5..'^^0  a  day  in  charge  of  a  bluing 
works  in  Chicago,  and  actually  sent  home  $15  every  two  weeks. 


* 
n 


STIMULATION    OF   THE   MOVEMENT 


35 


Another  man  wrote  that  he  was  in  Gary  working  at  his  trade 
making  sometimes  as  much  as  $7  a  day.  He  sent  home  $:50 
every  two  weeks.  Fully  one-half,  or  perhaps  even  more  of 
those  who  left,  did  so  at  the  solicitation  of  friends  through 
correspondence.* 

Despite  the  restraints  on  loose  talk  in  encouragement  of 
the  exodus,  there  were  other  means  of  keeping  the  subject  alive. 
One  method,  of  course,  was  the  circulation  of  literature  from 
the  North.  One  of  the  most  novel  schemes  was  that  of  a 
neero  dentist  in  a  southern  town  who  had  printed  en  the  reverse 
side  of  his  business  cards  quotations  from  rather  positive  asser- 
tions by  northerners  on  the  migration.^     The  northern  press 

1  Johnson,  Report  on  the  Migration  from  Mississippi. 

2  "  There  is  no  class  of  people  and  no  ethical  question  that  will  not  feel 
the  etTtcts  of  the  war.  The  negroes  of  this  country  who  go  to  France  to 
fight  or  who  replace  workingmen  who  go  as  soldiers  will  demand,  and 
justly  so.  full  American  rights.  The  United  States  can  not  stand  before 
the  world  as  the  champion  of  freedom  and  democracy  and  continue  to  burn 
men  alive  and  lynch  them  without  fair  trial.  The  National  Association  for 
the  Advancement  of  Colored  People  calls  upon  this  country  to  '  clear  her 
conscience  before  she  can  fight  for  the  world's  good,'  by  abolishing  lynching 
and  ceasing  all  oppression  of  negroes.  This  is  a  national  problem  and  more 
particularly  one  of  the  South.  In  Europe  there  are  practically  no  race 
distinctions.  A  negro  can  mix  with  white  folk  as  an  equal,  just  as  a 
Spaniard,  for  example,  does  here;  even  intermarriage  is  not  regarded  as 
miscegenation.  The  race  problem  here  is  a  diflferent  matter,  however,  as 
even  the  more  intelligent  negroes  themselves  will  acknowledge.  The  negro 
should  be  assured  all  the  protection  and  rights  that  go  with  American 
citizenship,  but  in  this  is  not  involved  intermarriage  or  social  equality.  — 
Leslie's  Illustrated  IVcekly,  October  13,  1917. 

"  The  foreign  laborer  has  been  called  home  to  bear  arms  for  his  country. 
The  daily  death  toll  and  waste  and  the  recently  enacted  immigration  law 
make  it  certain  that  he  will  not  soon  return  in  great  numbers  As  a  result 
a  large  market  exists  for  the  negro  laborer  m  localities  in  which  he  would 
have  been  considered  an  impudent  trespasser  had  he  attempted  to  enter  a 
few  years  ago.  The  history  of  the  world  from  the  days  of  Moses  to  the 
present  shows  that  where  one  race  has  been  subjugated,  oppressed  or 
proscribed  by  another  and  exi.->i  in  large  numbers,  permanent  rehet  nas 
come  in  one  or  two  ways-«n.algamation  or  migration.  The  thought  ot 
amalgamation  is  not  to  be  entertained.  If  conditions  in  the  South  for  the 
colored  man  are  to  be  permanently  improved,  many  of  those  who  now  live 
there  should  migrate  and  scatter  throughout  the  North,  East  and  West  1 
believe  the  present  opportunity  providential."— Hon.  John  C.  Ashbury,  fnua- 
delphia  Bar. 

"  This  is  the  psychological  moment  to  say  to  the  American  white  govern- 
ment from  every  pulpit  and  platform  and  through  every  newspaper,  \  es, 
we  are  loyal  and  patriotic.  Boston  Common,  Bunker  Hill.  Gettysburg,  fort 
Pillow,  Appomattox,  San  Juan  Hill  and  Carrizal  will  testify  to  our  loyalty. 
While  we  love  our  flag  and  country,  we  do  not  believe  in  fighting  tor  tlie 
protection  of  commerce  on  the  high  seas  until  the  powers  that  be  give  us 
at  least  some  verbal  assurance  that  the  property  and  lives  of  the  members 


I 


.* 


r.e, 


\i;(.K(t    MICRATKlN     DIRIM;     ril|.:    WAR 


early  welcomed  the  niucli  needed  nep;ro  laborers  to  the  North 
and   leaders  of   thon^ht   in   that   section   hepan   to  upbraid   the 
Sonth  for  its  antagonistic  attitude  towards  the  welfare  of  the 
ne^^rocs.  who  at  last  had  learned  to  seek  a  more  congenial  home. 
A  stnmger  intlncnce  than  this,  though  not  quite  so  frequent, 
was  the  returned  migrant   who  was  a  living  example  of  the 
prosperity  of  the   North.      It   was  a    frequent  C(jmplaint     hat 
these  men  were  as  effective  as  labor  agents  in  urging  negro 
laborers  to  go  north.     There  are  reported  numerous  instances 
of  men  who  came  to  visit  their  families  and  returned  with  thirty 
to  forty  men.     It  has  been  suspected,  and  with  a  strong  sugges- 
tion of  truth,  that  many  of  these  were  supplied  with  funds^'for 
the  trip  by  the  northern  firms  which  employed  them.    A  woman 
whose  daughter  had  gone  north  had  been  talking  of  her  daugh- 
ter's success.     The  reports  were  so  opposite  to  the  reconrof 
the  girl  at  home  that  they  were  not  taken  seriously.    Soon,  how- 
ever, the  daughter  came  home  with  apparently  unlimited  money 
and  beautiful  clothes,  and  carried  her  mother  back  with  her. 
This  was   sufficient.      It   was   remarked   afterwards:    "If   she 
can  make  $2.50  a  day  as  lazy  as  she  was,  I  know  I  can  make 
$4."  1 

The  labor  agents  were  a  very  important  factor  in  stimulating 
the  movement.  The  numljer  at  work  in  the  South  appears  to 
have  been  greatly  exaggerated.  Agents  were  more  active  in 
large  cities  where  their  presence  was  not  so  conspicuous.  It 
was  difficult  to  discover  because  of  the  very  guarded  manner 
m  which  they  worked.  One,  for  example,  would  walk  briskly 
down  the  street  through  a  group  of  negroes  and,  without  turn- 

of  our  race  are  going  to  be  protected  on  land  from  Maine  to  Mississiooi ' 
^-.L"',;^^r  the  co„r3g^  ^3y  ,^  j^^  ^^.^^  American  people  '  Give  "the 
same  rights  which  yoi.  enjoy,  and  then  we  will  fight  by  your  side  with  all 
o  our  m.ght  or  every  international  right  on  land  and  sea'  If  thi  kind 
of  talk  ,s  not  loyalty,  then  I  am  disloyal:  if  this  is  not  patriotism  then  I 
am  unpatnot.c:  .f  th.s  ,s  tre.nson.  then  I  am  a  traitor.  It  is  not  tTat  I  love 
Csesar  less  but  these  bl.nck  Romans  more,  who  have  been  true  to  he  C 
for  two  hundred  and  fifty  years.  It  is  infinitelv  more  disgraceful  and 
outrageous  to  hang  and  burn  colored  men,  boys  and  women  without  a  trFa 
in  the  times  of  pence  than  it  is  for  Germans  in  times  of  war  to  blow  ,n 
ship,  loaded  with  mules  and  molasses."-Reverend  X!  Clajton' Powdl°  Vw 

'Jdnson,  Report  on  the  Migration  from  Mississifipi. 


STIMfLATION    OF   THE    MOVK.MENT 


3; 


ing  his  heal,  would  say  in  a  low  tone.  "Anybody  want  to  go 
to  Chicago,  see  me."  That  was  sufficient.  Many  persons  were 
found  to  remark  frequently  on  the  strange  silence  which  negroes 
en  masse  managed  to  maintain  concerning  the  movement  of  the 
agents.  A  white  man  remarked  that  it  was  the  first  time  there 
had  ever  happened  anything  about  which  he  could  not  get  full 
information  from  some  negro.  Agents  were  reported,  at  one 
time  or  another,  in  every  section  from  \vhi:h  the  migrants 
went.  When  the  vigilance  of  the  authorities  restricted  their 
activities  they  began  working  through  the  mails.  Many  sections 
were  flooded  with  letters  from  the  North  to  persons  whose 
names  had  been  obtained  from  migrants  in  the  North  or  through 
a  quiet  canvass  of  the  community  by  unobstructed  solicitors.* 

Poems  on  the  migration  were  also  strong  stimuli.  In  some 
instances  arrests  of  persons  circulating  them  were  made.  A 
bit  of  poetry  which  received  widespread  popularity  was  one 
called  "  Bound  for  the  Promised  Land."  It  was  said  that  this 
piece  of  poetry  was  responsible  for  much  trouble.  The  Chicago 
Defender  reported  on  June  1,  11)17,  that  five  young  men  were 
arraigned  l)efore  Judge  John  E.  Schwartz  of  Savannah,  Georgia, 
for  reading  poetry.  The  police  contended  that  they  were  in- 
citing riot  in  the  city  and  over  Georgia.  Two  of  the  men  were 
sent  for  thirty  days  to  Brown  Farm,  a  place  not  fit  for  human 
beings.  Tom  Aniaca  was  arrested  for  having  "  Bound  for  the 
Promised  Land,"  a  poem  which  had  been  recently  published  in 
the  Defender.  J.  X.  Chisholm  and  A.  P.  Walker  were  arrested 
there  because  they  were  said  to  Ije  the  instigators.^  Another 
very  nopular  poem  widely  circulated  was  entitled  "Farewell! 
We're  Good  and  Gone."  It  was  said  that  this  poem  influenced 
thousands  to  go.  Other  poems  on  the  migration  were  "  North- 
ward Bound,"  "  The  Land  of  Hope  "  and  "  Negro  Migration  " 
and  "  The  Reason  Why." 

»  Work  and  Johnson,  Report  on  the  Migration  during  the  World  War. 
'  2  Ibid. 


CHAPTER  IV 
The  Spread  of  the  Movement 

In  the  first  communities  visited  by  representatives  of  northern 
capital,  their  offers  created  unprecedented  commotion.  Drivers 
and  teamsters  left  their  wagons  standing  in  the  street.  Workers, 
returning  home,  scrambled  board  the  trains  for  the  North 
without  notifying  their  employers  or  their  families.  The  crowds 
that  blackened  the  pool  rooms  and  "  hangouts "  faded  away 
as  the  trains  continued  to  leave.  Wild  rumors  about  the  North 
crept  into  circulation  and  received  unquestioning  credence. 
Songs  about  Pennsylvania,  the  spontaneous  expression  of  anxi- 
ety and  joy  over  the  sudden  revelation  of  a  new  world,  floated 
about  on  the  lips  of  the  children.  Homes  were  thrown  on  the 
market  and  sold  at  ruinously  low  prices. 

It  was  observed  that  the  beginnings  in  each  new  community 
exhibited  the  same  characteristics.  This  is  due  in  part  to  a 
pretty  universal  state  of  unrest  among  negroes  throughout  the 
South.  Although  the  first  State  entered  by  representatives  of 
northern  capital  was  Florida,  their  efforts  were  not  confined 
to  that  commonwealth.  And  again,  although  the  Pennsylvania 
and  Erie  Railroads  were  the  first  to  import  negroes  in  large 
numbers,  they  were  not  alone  in  the  field  very  long.  The  steel 
mills  of  the  East  and  the  railroads  of  the  West  soon  followed— 
each  selecting  States  from  which  egress  was  easy  and  con- 
venient. The  authorities  of  the  cities  of  Florida,  when  they 
began  to  engage  themselves  in  the  suppression  of  recruiting 
agents,  succeeded  in  scattering  them  to  other  fields  where  their 
mere  presence,  preceded  as  it  was  by  the  news  of  their  mission 
in  the  South,  was  suflicient  to  attract,  first,  all  of  the  landless 
labor,  then  to  loosen  the  steady  workman  wedded  to  the  soil, 
and  finally  to  carry  away  the  best  of  the  working  classes.  Quite 
naturally  southeastern  Georgia  was  the  second  district  to  feel 

38 


THE   SPREAD  OK   THE    MOVEMENT 


89 


the  drain  of  the  excxkis.  These  workers  were  carried  into 
Pennsylvania,  New  York  and  New  Jersey  for  the  maintenance 
work  of  the  roads.  North  Carolina  was  next  entered;  then 
finally  Virginia  which  had  Iwen  sending  many  negroes  into 
New  York,  Pennsylvania  and  New  Jersey  for  a  number  of 
years.* 

Numerous  illustrations  show  he  popular  state  of  mind  at 
the  beginning,  when  every  one  was  feverish.  Men  would  loudly 
decry  the  folly  of  breaking  up  their  homes,  the  result  of  years 
of  unrelenting  toil,  and  venturing  into  the  unknown  North,  and 
within  less  than  twenty-four  hours,  would  leave  themselves.  A 
good  citizen  would  talk  with  another  about  the  apparent  in- 
sanity of  those  negroes  who  had  "  contracted  the  northe/n  fever." 
They  would  condemn  their  acts  with  their  strongest  words. 
Hardly  before  another  day  could  pass,  one  of  the  two  would 
disappear,  having  imitated  the  recklessness  of  the  very  people 
he  had  so  recently  condemned. 

One  man  in  telling  of  how  they  acted,  asserts  "  You  could 
see  a  man  today  and  he  would  be  calling  the  people  who  were 
leaving  all  kinds  of  names;  he  could  even  beat  you  when  it 
came  to  calling  them  fools  for  going  north.  The  next  day 
when  you  met  him  he  wouldn't  talk  so  loud  and  the  next  day 
he  wouldn't  let  you  see  him.  That  would  be  the  last  of  him, 
because,  unless  you  went  to  the  depot,  you  wouldn't  see  him 
again.  Whenever  I  saw  them  shying  oflF  from  me,  I  always 
knew  what  they  had  up  their  sleeves."  It  was  "  just  naturally 
fashionable  "  to  leave  for  the  North.  A  man  would  make  up 
his  mind  to  go  and  proceed  forthwith  to  persuade  his  friends. 
If  they  refused,  they  no  longer  had  any  interests  in  common. 
In  talking  with  a  man  who  had  persistently  refused  to  leave, 
he  declared  that  he  had  lost  practically  every  friend  he  had, 
simply  because  he  did  ni)t  agree  with  them  on  "  the  northern 
question."  For  the  pastors  of  churches  it  was  a  most  trying 
ordeal.  They  must  watch  their  congregations  melt  away  and 
could  say  nothing.  If  they  spoke  in  favor  of  the  movement, 
they  were  in  danger  of  a  clash  with  the  authorities.     If  they 

*  Work,  Report  on  the  Migration  from  Florida. 


%\ 

I 


40 


MliRO    .MI(,HATIt»\    DIKINC     IHI.    \V\K 


discouraged  it.  tlicy  were  accused  of  beiujf  boiijrlit  up  t<>  Imld 
nejjr<»es  in  Ixmdafjc.  It  a  pastor  attempted  to  per.Miade  ncKroe- 
to  stay,  his  conj,'re},'ation  and  his  collection  would  lie  cut  down 
and  in  some  cases  his  resij,'nation  demanded.  In  some  of  the 
smaller  communities  the  pastors  ^ettled  this  difticidty  by  follow- 
iufj  their  tlock.  as  was  the  case  of  three  who  left  Hattiesburg. 
Mi>sissippi.  followinj,'  their  conjjrejjations.  Two  luml)cr  com- 
panies in  Mississippi  employed  a  negro  to  lecture  for  the  purpose 
of  discouraging  the  exodus.  He  was  handsomely  paid,  but  he 
was  unheeded.  Even  now  he  is  held  in  contempt  by  his  former 
friends. 

The  <levout  and  religious  saw  God  in  the  movement.  It  was 
inspired,  they  said,  else  why  could  so  many  thousand  negroes 
all  be  obsessed  at  once  with  the  same  impulse.  There  were  set 
afloat  rumors  that  a  great  calamity  was  alwut  to  befall  the 
Southland.  In  Georgia  and  .Mabrma,  hundreds  believed  that 
God  bad  cursed  the  land  when  be  sent  droughts  and  floods  and 
destructive  pests  to  visit  them.  The  number  of  negroes  needed 
in  the  North  was  counted  in  millions;  the  wages  offered  were 
fabulous  and  the  letters  that  came  from  the  vanguard  painted 
pictures  of  a  land  of  plenty.  From  some  communities  a  small 
group  would  leave,  promising  to  inform  those  behind  of  the 
actual  state  of  affairs,  i-or  a  week  or  more  there  would  follow 
a  tense  period  of  "  watchful  waiting"  and  never  ending  anxiety, 
when  finally  tiiere  would  arrive  a  card  bearing  tiie  terse  report 
"  Everything  pritty."  or  "  Home  ain't  nothing  like  this."  On 
this  assurance,  a  reckless  disposition  of  household  eflects  would 
follow.* 

The  towns  <|uite  naturally  were  the  first  to  feel  the  effect. 
There,  the  pass  rider— the  lalwr  agent— could  move  about  more 
freely.  People  lived  in  closer  contact  and  news  circulated  more 
rapidly ;  the  papers  came  in  regularly  and  the  negroes  themselves 
could  see  those  leaving.  On  market  flays  when  the  country  folk 
reached  town  they  got  their  first  impulse  from  the  commotion. 
Young  country  boys  failed  to  return  to  quiet  isolation,  and 
sturdy  sensible  farmers  whose  whole  lives  bad  been  spent  on 

»  Work  and  Johnson,  Report  on  the  Migration  ditrnui  the  World  War. 


< 

4 


Tin:    S1'R1,\U   OK    nil.    MOVKMEM 


41 


the  farm,  coiiM  not  rc-l>t  tlic  teniptatii)ii.  As  they  retiirncil 
tia-y  iiitorined  tlieir  iifij^lilxirs.  sayiii}; :  "They  are  Icaviiijj  town 
by  the  tli<nisan(l>,"  or  "  Man,  cotMrcil  folks  arc  leaving  in  tirovcs 
for  tlif  North."  'rhi-rc  arc  ca  .s  of  men  who  left  their  tieldN 
half  plowed  antl  journeyed  to  the  city  and  thence  to  the  North. 
In  other  communities,  the  heginnin;,'  woulil  Ik-  a  timid  dribble 
to  the  larger  cities  or  directly  to  the  North.' 

The  state  of  mind  of  the  connnnnity  under  the  intluence  of  the 
first  etTects  of  the  "fever"  is  illustrated  in  authenticated  ac- 
counts of  persons  who  witnessed  the  e.xodus  from  different  cities: 

Thi'  most  itittrt-NtiiiK  thiiiK  is  liow  tlicsc  people  left.  'Ilicy  wire  »t!liii({ 
out  evir.MhiiiK  tlii-y  liad  or  in  a  niaiiiicr  KiviiiK  it  away,  selling  their  homes, 
iiuilis.  horsfs,  cows,  and  i-vcrytliiiiK  alK)ut  thnn  but  tluir  trunks.  .All 
around  in  the  counlry,  people  who  were  so  old  they  could  not  very  well  get 
about  were  leavinjj.  Some  left  with  six  to  eight  very  small  children  and 
babies  half  clothed,  no  shoes  on  their  feet,  hungry,  not  anything  to  eat  and 
not  even  a  cent  over  their  train  f.ire.  Some  would  go  to  the  station  and 
wr't  there  three  or  four  days  for  an  agent  who  was  carrying  them  on  passcj 
Others  of  this  city  would  go  in  dubs  of  fifty  and  a  hundred  at  a  time  in 
order  to  get  reduced  rates.  They  usually  left  on  \\  edncsday  and  Saturday 
nights.  One  Wednesday  night  I  went  to  the  station  to  see  a  friend  of  mine 
who  was  leaving.  I  could  not  get  in  the  station,  there  were  so  ma.  y  people 
turning  like  bees  in  a  hive.  Officers  would  go  up  and  down  the  tracks 
trying  to  keep  the  people  back.  One  old  lady  and  man  had  gotten  on  the 
train.  They  were  patting  their  feet  and  singing  and  a  mnn  standing  nearby 
asked,  "  L'ncle,  where  are  you  going?"  The  old  man  replied,  "Well,  son, 
I'm  gwinc  to  the  promised  land."  * 

1  Tlu-  Cliiciu/o  Ih-fendcr.  1016,  1917. 

-  "  Whether  he  knew  what  he  was  going  for  or  not,"  says  otie.  "  he  did 
not  take  time  to  consider.  The  slogan  was  'going  norlli.'  Some  never 
fiuestioned  the  whys  or  wherefores  but  went ;  led  as  if,  by  some  mysterious 
unseen  hand  which  was  compelling  them  on,  they  just  couldn't  stay.  One 
old  negro  when  asked  why  he  was  leaving,  replied :  '  I  don't  know  why  or 
where  I'm  going,  but  I'm  on  my  way.'  Tlie  norihern  fever  was  just  simply 
com  inioiis  :  they  couldn't  help  theni>eKes.  So  far  as  I  know,  and  I  tliink 
1  am  aliout  right,  this  fever  started  in  and  around  the  vicinity  of  Hessemer, 
Alabama.  One  little  \illage,  especially,  there  was  owned  by  a  white  man 
from  niv  home  who  hail  gone  there  tl'ie  year  before  carrying  some  negroes 
with  him.  I  1r'  ne.nnus  started  Uaving  this  village  so  fast  that  he  wouldn't 
allow  any  more  ticlets  to  be  sild  in  this  village,  but  the  negroes  only 
scolTed  at  this.  They  left  the  pl.intations  at  night  and  went  to  other  villages 
for  tickets  The  fever  had  now  begun  and,  like  all  other  contagious  diseases, 
it  soon  spread.  I  arrived  limiie  on  .M.i>  4  and  found  my  nativetown  all 
in  a  bustle.  .Now.  what  was  it  all  abotit '  The  next  club  for  the  North  was 
leaving  on  May  18.  The  sccondh.Tud  furniture  store  and  junk  shop  were 
practically  overflowing.  People  were  sillin;?  out  valuable  furniture  such  as 
whole  bedroom  sets  for  only  $2.     One   family  that   I  knew    myself  sold  a 


42 


NEGRO    MIURATIO.N    DrRIXO    THE    WAR 


•'  W  hen  (lie  laboring  man  got  paid  oflf,"  said  a  Jackson,  Mis- 
sissippi, mail,  "lie  bought  liinisclf  a  suit  of  overalls  and  a 
paper  valise  and  disappeared."  Even  the  young  married  women 
rel'iiscd  to  wait  any  longer  than  the  time  required  to  save  rail- 
road fare.  It's  strange  that  when  a  negro  got  a  notion  to  leave 
and  he  could  not  sell  or  give  away,  he  simply  locked  up  his 
house  and  left  the  key  with  his  neighbor.  Families  with  $1, ()()() 
worth  of  furniture  have  been  known  to  sell  it  for  $irA).  A  negro 
in  Jackson  was  buying  a  $1,000  house,  on  which  he  had  paid 
$700.  When  the  "  fever  "  struck  the  town,  he  sold  it  for  $100 
and  left. 

There  was  related  this  instance  of  a  number  of  negro  laborers : 


On  a  plantation  in  south  Georgia,  where  fifteen  or  more  families  were 
fanning  as  tenants,  there  had  been  a  great  deal  of  confusion  and  suffering 
among  the  people  because  of  the  lack  of  sufficient  food  and  clothing.  There 
were  the  Joneses,  a  family  of  nine,  the  Harrisons,  a  family  of  ten,  and  the 
Battles,  a  family  of  six.  Xo  family  on  the  place  had  an  allowance  of  more 
than  $25  per  month  for  food  and  clothing.  When  this  allowance  gave  out, 
nothing  could  be  gotten  until  the  next  month  and  the  tenants  dared  not 
leave  their  farms  to  work  elsewhere.  The  owner  of  this  plantation  lived 
in  town  ten  miles  away  and  only  visited  the  farm  about  once  a  week.  Much 
to  his  surprise,  on  one  of  his  weekly  visits,  he  found  all  the  homes  and 
farms  deserted  except  one.  On  that  were  two  old  men.  Uncle  Hen  and 
Uncle  Joe,  who  had  been  left  behind  because  they  were  unable  to  secure 
passes.     Uncle  Ben  and  Uncle  Joe  sorrowfully  told  the  landlord  all  that  had 


beautiful  expensive  home  for  only  $100.  In  fact  people  almost  gave  away 
their  houses  and  furnishings.  Finally,  the  night  for  the  club  to  leave  came 
and  the  crowds  at  the  tram  were  so  large  that  the  policemen  had  to  just 
force  them  back  in  order  to  allow  the  peoole  to  get  on  and  off.  .After  the 
train  was  filled  with  as  many  people  as  it  could  hold,  the  old  engme  gave 
one  or  two  puffs  and  pulled  out,  bound  for  the  promised  land." 

"A  very  close  neighbor  of  ours,"  says  one.  "left  for  the  North.  He 
had  a  very  small  family.  He  left  because  his  youngest  son,  who  had  been 
north  a  few  months,  came  home  with  a  considerable  amount  of  money 
which  he  had  saved  while  on  his  trip.  The  father  made  haste  and  sold  all 
he  had.  His  son  got  him  a  pass.  He  said  it  was  far  better  for  him  to  be 
in  the  North  where  he  could  stand  up  like  a  man  and  demand  his  rights : 
so  he  i.s  there.  His  daughter  Mary  remained  at  home  for  some  time  after 
the  family  ha<'  gone.  She  finally  wrote  her  father  to  send  her  a  pass,  which 
he  did.  She  had  a  small  boy  that  was  given  her.  She  was  not  able  to 
take  him  and  care  for  him  as  she  would  like.  Her  next  door  neighbor,  a 
very  fine  woman  who  had  no  children,  wanted  a  child  so  Mary  gave  it  to 
her.  To  secure  better  wages  and  more  freedom  his  oldest  son  went  to 
Fast  St.  Louis  and  remained  there  until  June.  Then  he  left  for  Chicago. 
This  family  sold  their  chickens  and  rented  their  cattle  to  some  of  the  people 
iji  that  community."— Work  and  Johnson,  Report  on  the  Migration  during 
the  ll'orld  (Far. 


THE   SPREAD  OF   THE    MOVEMENT 


43 


happened,  emphasizing  the  fact  that  they  were  the  only  ones  who  had 
remained  loyal  to  him.  Then  they  told  him  their  nttJs.  The  landlord, 
thinking  that  the  old  negroes  were  so  faithful,  rewarded  them  with  a  good 
sum  of  money  and  left  with  the  assurance  that  they  would  see  to  the  crops 
lieing  worked.  Xo  sooner  had  the  landlord  left  than  these  old  men  with 
Kfips  packed  and  with  the  money  they  had  received,  boarded  the  train  to 
jiin  their  companions  in  the  North.' 

As  an  example  of  the  irresistible  force  which  charactei  ized 
the  movement,  one  old  negro  made  the  remark:  "  I  sorter  wanted 
to  go  myself.  I  didn't  know  just  where  I  wanted  to  go.  I  just 
wanted  to  git  away  with  the  rest  of  them."  A  woman  ir  speak- 
ing of  the  torture  of  solitude  which  she  experienced  after  the 
first  wave  passed  over  her  town,  said:  "  You  could  go  out  on 
the  street  and  count  on  your  fingers  all  the  colored  people  you 
saw  during  the  entire  day.  Now  and  then  a  disconsolate  look- 
ing Italian  storekeeper  would  come  out  in  the  street,  look  up 
and  down  and  walk  back.  It  was  a  sad  looking  place,  and  .so 
quiet  it  gave  you  the  shivers."  ^ 

In  the  heat  of  the  excitement  families  left  carrying  members 
dangerously  ill.  There  is  reported  one  interesting  case  of  a 
family  with  one  of  its  members  sick  with  pneumonia.  As  soon 
as  the  woman  was  able  to  sit  up,  she  was  carried  away.  At 
St.  Louis  it  was  found  necessary  to  stop  because  of  her  con- 
dition. Finding  that  she  could  not  recover,  they  proceeded  to 
Chicago,  where  she  died.  Several  of  the  migrants  have  seen 
fit  to  make  heroes  of  themselves  by  declining  to  return  to  the 
South  even  on  the  advice  of  a  physician.  Thus,  a  certai-.  min- 
ister is  said  to  have  refused  to  be  sent  home  when  his  physician 
had  told  him  there  was  a  possible  chance  for  recovery  in  his 
home  in  the  South.  He  said  that  he  preferred  to  die  and  be 
buried  in  the  North. 

By  the  summer  of  191G,  the  exodus  from  Florida  had  giown 
to  such  ungovernable  bounds  that  the  more  stable  classes  of 
negroes  became  unsettled.  A  body,  representing  the  influential 
colored  citizens  of  the  State,  wrote  the  editor  of  the  New 
York  Age: ' 

>  Work  and  Johnson,  Report  on  the  Migration  during  the  World  War. 

■■'  Ibid. 

»  The  Xew  York  Age,  -August  16,  1916. 


-u 


NIXiRU    MKiKATIn.V    prRINC,    THK    WAR 


Jacksonville,  Fla.,  August  Ic,  1916. 
To  ilic  l^ditor  of  tlie  .hir' 

To  hi-  hrit'f.  1  In..;  to  state  tliat  flio  ( >  of  this  city,  in  a  regular 

tnectitiK.  voicd  la>t  Monday  tliat  1  writi'  your  paper  asking  advice  on  tiic 
stdijcct  of  ininratioii  wliicli  is  largo  and  really  alarming  to  the  people  of 
this  State,  for  thousands  of  people  (colored)  are  leavi:ig  this  State,  goins 
to  reiiii>ylvania.  New  N  ork.  Maryhind  and  New  Jersey,  wiiere  it  is  stated 
they  are  wanted  as  lahorers  in  various  pursuits.  In  your  tnind  and  to 
your  knowledge,  do  you  think  it  is  the  be>t  thing  for  them  to  d^).  and  arc 
they  liettering  condition  financially,  morally  and  religiously;  even  in  man- 
hood. citi/en>hip.  etc.    Our  has  been  asked  hy  the  white  and  colored 

people  here  to  >peak  in  an  ad\i>. Ty  way.  but  we  decided  to  rem.iin  siletit 
until  ue  can  hear  from  relialiie  ••ources  in  the  North  and  East,  and  you 
have  been  de-ignated  as  one  of  the  best.  So  to  speak,  our  city  is  in  a  tur- 
moil— in  suspense.  Vou  have  doubtless  heard  of  the  great  exodus  of  negroes 
to  the  North,  and  we  presume  yon  have  given  it  >ome  thought,  and  even 
investigated  it.  Please  give  the  be:ietit  of  your  tindings  and  reasons  for 
your  conclu^i' 'II. 

Thanking  you  in  advance   for  a  p-'ompt  and  full  reply  to  the  correspond- 
ing secretary,  Vouis  truly. 


Corre.-ponding  Secretary. 


Caught  up  in  the  wave  of  ctitliusia.-^m  that  swept  over  the 
South,  these  migrants  could  not  resist  tlie  impulse  to  leave.  The 
economic  loss  resulting  from  their  reckless  departure  expressed 
in  terms  of  dollars  and  cents  is  another  story,  and  probably 
can  never  be  even  approximately  estimated.  What  seems  of 
most  interest  here  is  that  they  were  in  the  frame  of  mind  for 
leaving.  They  left  as  though  they  were  tiecing  some  curse:  they 
were  willijig  to  make  almost  any  sacrifice  to  obtain  a  railroad 
ticket  and  they  left  with  the  intention  of  staying.  What  has 
been  described,  of  C(iursc,  can  not  be  construed  to  apply  to 
every  one  who  left.  There  were  those  of  the  business  and 
professional  classes  who  were  promoted  by  other  motives  than 
tllo^e  which  imjR-lled  the  masse*  of  migrants.  There  were,  for 
example,  migraiits  who  in  the  South  had  held  positions  of  rela- 
tively high  standing  by  virtue  of  the  fact  that  there  do  exist 
two  institutiotial  standards,  the  white  and  the  black.  Measure<I 
by  the  recpu'rements  of  the  latter,  they  stood  high  in  the  respect 
<if  the  community,  but  when  removed  to  the  Xnrth  they  suffer.ed 
in  the  rank  of  their  occupation.     A  college  president  or  even 


THE    SPREAD   OF    Till:    MOVEMENT 


45 


a  school  teacher  hail  httle  opportunity  in  their  respective  fields 
in  the  Xorth.  They  had,  therefore,  migrated  because  deserted 
by  their  neighbors  they  were  left  with  a  prospect  of  a  diminishing 
social  importance. 

Profcssicnal  men  followed  their  practice.  In  Chicago  there 
are  at  least  six  lawyers  from  Mississippi,  with  practically  the 
same  clientele.  At  the  height  of  the  exodus,  one  of  these  came 
to  Chicago  and  secured  admission  to  the  bar  in  order  that  he 
might  be  in  a  position  to  move  quickly  if  his  practice  were  too 
severely  cut  down.  .Several  i)hysicians  of  the  State  have  re- 
marked that  they  wcndd  now  l)e  in  the  East  or  the  Xorth  if 
reciprocity  with  the  State  of  Mississippi  were  possible.^  Busi- 
ness men  have  been  reported  to  have  moved  Xorth  for  the  sole 
purpose  of  collecting  debts.  Others  are  cooler  and  more  calcu- 
lating in  preparing  to  leave.  One  i)harmacist.  for  instance,  plans 
to  move  within  the  ne.xt  five  years.  It  is  true  that  some  of 
those  who  came  in  the  movement  would  have  come  even  if  no 
one  else  had  decided  to  migrate.  The  influence  of  the  general 
state  of  mind,  however,  on  the  great  majority  is  of  most  con- 
cern in  determining  the  forces  behind  the  exodus. 

Possibly  the  numbers  to  leave  the  South  would  have  been 
consideraL.y  smaller  had  there  not  been  existent  so  universal 
a  readiness  to  respond  to  a  call  in  almost  any  direction.  The 
causes  of  this  state  of  mind  are  stated  elsewhere.  What  is  im- 
portant here  is  the  behavior  of  the  persons  leaving  which  ex- 
erted such  a  compelling  influence  on  their  neighbors.  The  ac- 
tions ire  illustrative  not  only  of  the  contagion  of  the  movement, 
but  of  the  fundamental  emotions  of  the  negroes  who  formed 
the  exfidus.  Thus  it  was,  for  example,  that  the  movement  was 
called  the  "  exodus "  from  its  suggestive  resemblance  to  tl,ie 
flight  of  the  Israelites  from  Egypt,  77;.'  Promised  Land,  Crcss- 
ing  ox'cr  Jordan  (the  Ohio  River),  and  Bculah  Land.  At  times 
demonstrations  took  on  a  rather  spectacular  aspect,  as  when  a 
party  of  147  from  Hattiesburg,  Mississippi,  while  crossing  the 
Ohio  River,  held  solemn  ceremonies.  These  migrants  knelt 
down  antl  prayed;  the  men  stopped  their  watches  and,  amid 

'  Johnson,  Rcfort  on  the  Migrat'.on  from  Mississiffi. 


40 


XEC.RO    MIGRATION    DURIXG   THE   WAR 


tears  of  joy,  sang  the  familiar  songs  of  deliverance,  "  I  done 
come  out  of  the  Land  of  Egypt  with  the  good  news."  The  songs 
following  in  Drder  were  "  Beulah  Lanil "  and  "  Dwelling  in 
Beulah  Land."  One  woman  of  the  party  declared  that  she 
could  detect  an  actual  difference  in  the  atmosphere  beyond  the 
Ohio  River,  e.xplaining  that  it  was  much  lighter  and  that  she 
could  get  her  breath  more  easily.* 

The  general  direction  of  the  spread  of  the  movement  was 
from  east  to  west.  While  efforts  were  being  made  to  check 
the  exodus  from  Florida,  the  good  citizens  of  Texas  were  first 
beginning  to  note  a  stir  of  unrest  in  their  sections.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  march  of  the  boll  weevil,  that  stripped  the  cotton 
fields  of  the  South,  was  Trom  west  to  east.  Where  there  was 
wide  unemployment,  depression  and  poverty  as  a  result  of  the 
great  floods  in  .\lal)ama,  the  cutting  down  of  the  cane  area 
in  Louisiana,  the  boll  weevil  in  Mississippi,  there  were  to  be 
found  thousands  who  needed  no  other  inducement  save  the 
prospect  of  a  good  job.  Indeed,  it  is  alleged  by  some  negroes 
that  the  myriads  of  lalx)r  agents  who  were  said  to  be  operating 
in  the  South  were  creatures  of  the  imagination  of  an  affrighted 
Southland;  that  but  few  were  actually  offering  positions  in  the 
Xorth;  but  their  success  was  due  to  the  overpowering  desire 
on  the  part  of  the  negroes  to  go.- 

In  September  of  lOlC  a  Georgia  correspondent  of  the  Atlanta 
CotistitiitioH  wrote: 

For  the  past  two  or  three  weeks  1  have  been  receiving  two  or  more  letters 
daily  from  people  in  all  sections  of  Georgia  asking  my  advice  as  to  the 
advisability  of  the  colored  people  leaving  the  State  in  large  numbers,  as 
they  have  been  leaving  for  the  past  six  months.  I  think  it  is  a  mistake  for 
our  people  to  sell  and  practically  give  their  earnings  of  years  just  on  a 
hearsay  that  they  will  be  given  larger  salaries  and  great  advantages  in  some 
other  part  of  the  country. 


It  will  be  remembered  that  the  State  of  South  Carolina  was 
not  immediately  affected.  It  was  not  until  the  discussions  bear- 
ing on  the  negro's  insecurity  and  economic  state,  which  accom- 

1  Tnlnison,  Rrf'ort  on  thr  yfiqration  from   Mississippi. 

2  Work,  Report  on  the  Migration  from  Alabama. 


THE   SPREAD  OK   THE   MOVEMENT 


47 


panied  the  exodus  in  justification  of  it.  had  begun  to  be  em- 
phasized as  the  cause  of  the  movement  that  a  great  exodus 
took  place  in  the  State.  The  principal  occasion  here  was  the 
unfortunate  lynching  of  Anthony  Crawford.  A  negro  news- 
paper with  a  correspondent  in  Abbeville  said : 

The  lynching  of  Anthony  Crawford  has  caused  men  and  women  of  this 
State  to  get  up  and  bodily  leave  it.  The  lynching  of  Mr.  Crawford  was 
unwarranted  and  uncalled  for  and  his  treatment  was  such  a  disgrace  that 
respectable  people  are  leaving  daily.  When  they  begin  to  leave  in  the  next 
few  weeks  like  they  have  planned,  this  section  will  go  almost  into  hysterics 
as  some  sections  of  Georgia  and  Alabama  are  doing  because  they  are  leaving 
for  the  North  to  better  their  industrial  condition.  Crawford  is  said  to 
have  been  worth  $100,000  in  property.  His  wife  and  five  sons  have  been 
or<lercd  to  leave.  Word  comes  that  neighbors  are  beginning  to  leave  and 
the  number  the  first  of  the  week  reached  1,000.  The  cry  now  is—'"  Go 
north,  where  there  is  some  humanity,  some  justice  and  fairness."  White 
people  have  accelerated  the  movement  for  the  race  to  move  north. 

This,  however,  accounts  principally  for  the  spread  of  the 
movement  as  accomplished  by  northern  capital  which,  hitting 
the  South  in  spots,  made  it  possible  for  a  wider  dissemination 
of  knowledge  concerning  the  North,  and  actually  placed  in  the 
North  persons  with  numerous  personal  connections  at  home. 
The  husbands  and  fathers  who  preceded  their  families  could 
and  did  command  that  they  follow,  and  they  in  turn  influenced 
their  neighlxjrs.  It  appears  that  those  who  came  on  free  trans- 
portation were  largely  men  who  had  no  permanent  interest*  or 
who  could  afford  to  venture  into  strange  fields.  This  indis- 
criminate method  of  many  of  the  transporting  agencies  un- 
doubtedly made  it  possible  for  a  great  number  of  indigent  and 
thriftless  negroes  simply  to  change  the  scene  of  their  inaction. 
Yet  it  is  unquestionably  true  that  quite  a  large  proportion  of 
those  who  went  North  in  this  fashion  were  men  honestly  seek- 
ing remunerative  employment,  or  persons  who  left  through  sheer 
desperation.  In  the  second  stage  of  the  movement  the  club 
organizations,  special  parties  and  chartered  cars  did  most  per- 
haps to  depopulate  little  communities  and  drain  the  towns  and 
cities. 

This  is  easily  to  be  accounted  for.    The  free  trains,  carrying 


4^ 


XECRO    MICRATIOX    DIRING    THK    WAR 


r.Kiinly  men,  were  uncertain.  They  were  operated  for  Itrief 
jierioils  in  towns,  l»nt  were  in  such  ill  i'av»)r  with  the  police 
:liat  pa.>>enj;ers  were  not  sate.  The  duhs  or  special  parties  were 
wi  rked  up  by  a  leader,  who  was  often  a  wimian  of  intluence. 
She  soui^jht  her  friends  and  a  cnvenient  date  was  appointed 
Arranjienients  could  also  he  made  with  friends  in  the  North 
to  receive  them.  The  effectiveness  of  thi^  method  is  seen  in 
the  fact  that  neij(hl)or  was  soliciting  ncighlxir  and  friend  per- 
suadin;^  friend.  Women  in  some  of  the  northern  cities,  join- 
ing these  clubs,  assert  that  no  persua  ion  was  needed;  that  if  a 
family  found  that  it  could  not  leave  with  the  t"irst  groups,  it 
felt  desolate  and  willing  to  resort  to  any  extremes  and  sacrifices 
to  get  the  necessary  fare.  One  woman  in  a  little  town  in 
Mi>sissippi,  from  which  over  half  of  the  negro  population  had 
(Irihbled  away,  said:  "If  I  stay  here  any  longer,  I'll  go  wild. 
Every  time  I  go  home  I  have  to  pass  house  after  house  of  all 
my  friends  who  are  in  the  Xorth  and  prospering.  I've  been 
trying  to  h<;ld  on  here  and  keep  my  little  property.  There  ain't 
enough  people  here  I  now  know  to  give  me  a  decent  burial." 


CHAPTER  V 

The  Call  of  the  Self-sufficient  North 

A  surviving  custom  of  servitude  has  consigned  the  mass  of 
negroes  to  the  1' wer  pursuits  of  labor.  liven  at  this  it  would 
be  possible  to  live,  for  there  would  be  work.  In  the  Norvh, 
however,  such  employment  has  been  monopolized  by  foreign 
immigrants  clearing  Ellis  Island  at  the  rate  of  more  than  a 
million  a  year.  The  usurpation  here  brought  no  clash,  for  the 
number  of  negroes  in  the  North  scarcely  equalled  a  year's  immi- 
gration. From  the  ranks  of  unskilled  labor,  accordingly,  they 
were  effectively  debarred,  being  used  occasionally,  and  to  their 
own  detriment,  as  strike  breakers  and  forced  to  receive  smaller 
wages  and  to  make  more  enemies.  From  the  field  of  skilled  labor 
they  have  been  similarly  debarred  by  the  labor  unions. 

The  labor  unions  have  felt  that  they  had  a  good  case  against 
the  negro  workman.  The  complaints  most  commonly  made 
are  that  he  could  be  too  easily  used  as  a  strike  breaker  and  that 
he  lacked  interest  in  the  trade  union  movement.  As  a  matter 
of  fact,  both  are  true.  An  explanation  of  tliis  attitude  at  the 
same  time  brings  out  another  barrier  opposed  by  the  North  to 
the  free  access  of  negroes  to  trades.  Considerable  wavering 
has  characterized  the  attitude  of  the  trade  unions  toward  negro 
labor.  The  complexity  of  their  organization  makes  it  diflficult 
to  place  any  responsibility  directly  for  their  shortcomings.  The 
fact  remains,  however,  that  despite  the  declaration  of  the  con- 
stitution of  the  federated  Ixjdy  that  no  distinction  shall  be  made 
on  account  of  sex,  color  or  creed,  negroes  have  been  systemati- 
cally debarred  from  membership  in  a  great  number  of  labor 
hcdies.  Even  where  there  has  been  no  express  prohibition  in 
the  constitution  of  local  organizations  the  dis(>ositifln  to  exclude 
them  has  been  just  as  effective.  Refused  membership,  they  have 
easily  become  strike  breakers.     The  indifference  on  the  part  of 

49 


so 


NEGRO    MIGRATION'    DURING   THK    WAR 


negroes  to  the  lal)or  movement,  however,  may  well  Ix?  attributed 
also  to  ignorance  of  its  benefits.  In  a  number  of  cases  sep- 
arate organizations  have  been  granted  them. 

With  the  foreign  immigration  silently  crowding  him  back 
into  the  South,  the  labor  unions,  the  prejudices  of  his  white 
fellow  workman  and  the  paucity  of  his  numl)er  making  him 
ineffective  as  a  competitor,  driving  him  from  the  door  of  the 
factory  and  workshop,  the  negro  workman,  whatever  his  quali- 
fications, was  prior  to  1014  forced  to  enter  the  field  of  domestic 
service  in  the  North  and  farming  in  the  South.  The  conditions 
of  livelihood  in  both  sections  kept  him  rigidly  restricted  to  this 
limited  economic  sphere.  In  1!»10  the  total  number  of  negroes 
ten  years  of  age  and  over  gainfully  occupied  in  the  United  States 
was  5.11)2,."  '.  or  71  per  cent  of  the  total  numl)er  of  negroes 
ten  years  of  age  and  over.  Of  this  number  2.84S.2.j8  or  55.2 
per  cent  were  farmers  and  1.122.1S2  or  21.4  per  cent  were 
domestic  servants.  Out  of  nearly  five  hundred  occupations  listed 
in  the  census  of  1!»10  three-fourths  of  the  negro  working  popu- 
lation were  limited  to  two.  In  the  manufacturing  and  mechani- 
cal pursuits  throughout  the  entire  United  States  there  were  em- 
ployed scarcely  a  half  million  or  12.1  per  cent  of  the  working 
population. 

Statistics  of  labor  conditions  in  certain  northern  cities  sup- 
port this  conclusion.  In  New  York  City  in  1910,  of  the  negroes 
ten  years  of  age  and  over  gainfully  occupied  there  were  33,110 
males  and  26,352  females.  Of  the  males  there  were  engaged 
in  domestic  and  personal  service  10,724  or  47.6  per  cent  of  the 
total  numljer  of  males.  Of  the  26.352  females  there  were  in 
domestic  service  24.647  or  03.5  per  cent  of  the  total  numljer. 
In  the  occupations  which  require  any  degree  of  skill  and  utilize 
the  training  of  acquired  trades,  the  percentage  was  exceedingly 
low.  For  example,  in  the  manufacturing  and  mechanical  pur- 
suits where  there  were  the  benefits  of  labor  organizations  and 
higher  pay,  there  were  but  4,504  negro  males,  or  13.6  per  cent 
of  the  total  number  gainfully  employed.  The  per  cent  of  col- 
ored women  in  this  line  was  considerably  less.  Taken  together 
with  the  1.993  dressmakers  working  outside  of  factories  it  was 


THE   CALL  OF   THE  SELF-SUFFICIENT    NORTH 


51 


but  8.3  per  cent  of  the  total  number  of  females.  This  line  of 
work,  however,  as  all  who  are  familiar  with  the  manner  in 
which  it  is  done  will  recognize,  is  but  another  form  of  domestic 
service.  Exclusive  of  this  number  the  per  cent  drops  to  a  figure 
a  trifle  over  one  per  cent. 

Chicago,  as  another  typical  northern  city,  shows  practically 
the  same  limitations  on  negro  labor.  In  1010  there  were  gain- 
fully employed  in  this  city  27.317  negroes.  Of  this  total  61. S 
per  cent  were  engaged  in  domestic  service.  The  negro  women, 
of  course,  contributed  a  larger  share  to  this  proportion,  theirs 
being  83.8  per  cent  of  the  females  ten  years  of  age  and  over 
gainfully  employed.  In  the  manufacturing  and  mechanical  pur- 
suits there  were  engaged  3,400  males  and  1,038  females,  or 
18.7  and  1.1  per  cent  respectively.* 

Detroit,  viewed  in  the  light  of  its  tremendous  increase,  shows 
some  of  the  widest  differences.  In  1910  there  were  3,310 
negroes  of  working  age  profitably  employed.  Of  this  number 
there  were  but  410  males  and  74  females  engaged  in  the  manu- 
facturing and  mechanical  pursuits.  Forty-six  of  the  total  female 
working  population  were  engaged  in  domestic  service.  Limited 
to  a  few  occupations,  the  negroes  naturally  encountered  there 
intense  competition  with  the  usual  result  of  low  wages  and 
numerous  other  abuses.  Whenever  they  entered  new  fields,  as 
for  instance  those  designated  by  the  census  as  trade  and  trans- 
portation, they  were  generally  compelled  to  accept  wages  below 
the  standard  to  obtain  such  employment. 

There  appears  to  have  been  a  slow  but  steady  progress 
throughout  the  North  toward  the  accession  of  negroes  to  new 
lines  of  occupation.  This  change  was  forced,  unquestionably, 
by  the  necessity  for  seeking  new  fields  even  at  an  economic  loss. 
From  the  lines  of  work  in  which  negroes  for  a  long  time  have 
held  unquestioned  prestige,  the  competition  of  other  nationalities 
has  removed  them.  It  is  difficult  now  to  find  a  barber  shop 
operated  by  a  negro  in  the  business  district  of  any  northern 
city.  The  most  dangerous  competitor  of  the  negro  in  northern 
industry  has  been  the  immigrant,  who,  unconscious  of  his  subtle 
»  These  facts  appear  in  the  United  States  Census  Reports. 


.'•-  M.iiKd     MIi.KAf!(iN     IH  KINd    TIIK    WAR 

iiiliiliitioii  (  11  !!if  iifj;r(i'>  iiuliij-trial  (Icvi-luiitiicn!,  crowileil  him 
uiit  oi  tiiipiiiyiiK'iit  111  the  Xnrth  aiul  fairly  utll  succitiUmI  in 
hdhlini;  Iiiin  iii  the  South.  Atttr  titty  years  til'  luiropean  immi- 
{,'ratii'ii  the  iCre'^Mi  horn  increased  irciii  twD  million  to  over 
thirteen  million  and  only  t'lve  per  cent  of  them  have  settled  in 
the  Soiiili.  Indeed,  the  yearly  increase  in  foreign  iminif^ralion 
Kiualkd  the  entire  ne-^ro  i>o])ulation  of  the  North. 

The  competition  in  the  Xorth  has,  therefore,  been  in  con- 
sccjneiice  hitler  and  unrelentiiifj.  Swedes  and  (iermans  have 
replaced  nej^roc^  in  some  cities  as  janitors.  Austrians,  French- 
men and  (iermans  have  ousted  them  from  the  hotels,  and  (ireeks 
h.ive  almost  monopolized  the  Ixiothlacking  business.  The  decline 
in  the  domestic  service  (|Uota  of  the  working  negro  population, 
when  there  has  been  ri  decline,  stems  to  have  been  forced.  The 
figures  of  the  I'liite;:  Mates  census  strengthen  the  belief  that  the 
World  War  has  accomplished  one  of  two  things:  It  has  either 
hastened  the  process  of  opening  up  larger  fields  or  it  has  pre- 
vented a  serious  economic  situation  which  doubtless  would  have 
followtil  the  complete  supplanting  of  negroes  by  foreigners  in 
practically  all  lines. 

Before  the  war  the  imnugration  of  foreigners  from  Europe 
was  proceeding  at  the  enormous  rate  of  over  a  million  a  year. 
This  influx  was  so  completely  checked  by  the  war  that  the  margin 
of  arrivals  over  departures  for  the  first  three  years  following 
the  beginning  of  hostilities  was  the  siuallest  in  fifty  years.  The 
following  is  a  statement  taken  from  reports  of  the  Bureau  of 
Foreign  Immigration. 

I.MMIGR.ATIOX  SIXCF.  1913 

Year  Number 

l"l,i    ],1<)7,802 

1914    1.218.480 

1015    326.700 

1916   298.826 

1917    2'>3,403 

The  decrease  of  over  '.mhi.uiio  immigrants,  on  whom  the  in- 
dustries of  the  Xorth  depended,  caused  a  grave  situation.  It 
must  be  remembered  also  that  of  the  ■29'>A0-^>  arrivals  in  1017, 


a 


Tilt:   CALL   OF    THE   SKLK-SlFnCIKN T    NORTH 


C3 


there  were  included  ;JJ.:{Hi  Kn^'lish.  lU.K).")  French  and  i;}.:jr)0 
Scotch  who  turnish  l)ut  a  small  (luota  of  the  lalxjring  classes. 
There  were  also  lti.4;i.s  Mexicans  who  came  over  the  jjordcr, 
and  who,  for  the  most  part,  live  and  work  in  the  Southwest. 
The  type  of  immigration  which  kept  prime  the  labor  market 
of  the  Xorth  and  Northwest  came  in  through  Ellis  Island.  Of 
these,  Mr.  Frederick  C.  Howe,  Commissioner  of  Immigration, 
said  that  "  only  enough  have  come  to  balance  those  who  have 
left."  He  adds  further  that  "As  a  result,  there  has  been  a 
great  shortage  of  IaI)or  in  many  of  our  industrial  sections  that 
may  last  as  long  as  the  war." 

With  the  establishment  of  new  industries  to  meet  the  needs 
of  the  war,  the  erection  of  munitions  plants  for  the  manufacture 
of  war  materials  and  the  enlargement  of  already  existing  indus- 
tries to  meet  the  abnormally  large  demand  for  materials  here 
and  in  Kurope,  there  came  a  shifting  in  the  existing  labor 
supply  in  the  Xorth.  There  was  a  rush  to  the  higher  paid 
positions  in  the  munitions  plants.  This,  together  with  the  ad- 
vancement of  the  white  men  to  higher  positions  nearly  depleted 
the  ranks  of  common  lalwr.  The  companies  employing  foreign 
labor  for  railroad  construction  work  and  in  the  steel  mills  of 
Pennsylvania,  the  tobacco  fields  of  Connecticut,  the  packing 
houses,  foundries  and  automobile  plants  of  the  Northwest,  found 
it  imperative  to  seek  for  labor  in  home  fields.  The  Department 
of  Labor,  in  the  effort  to  relieve  this  shortage,  through  its  em- 
ployment service,  at  first  assisted  the  migration  northward.  It 
later  withdrew  its  assistance  when  its  attention  was  called  to  the 
growing  magnitude  of  the  movement  and  its  possible  effect 
on  the  South. 

Deserted  by  the  Department  of  Labor,  certain  northern  em- 
ployers undertook  to  translate  their  desires  into  action  in  101.'>, 
when  the  anxieties  of  the  New  England  tobacco  planters  were 
felt  in  the  New  York  labor  market.  These  planters  at  first  rushed 
to  New  York  and  promiscuously  gathered  up  :K>0  girls  of  the 
worst  type,  who  straightway  proceeded  to  demoralize  Hart- 
ford. The  blunder  was  speedily  detected  and  the  employers 
came  back  to  New  York,  seeking  some  agencv  which  might 


:.4 


N'KCKo  Mir.H.MioN  m  rim;   iiik  \v ak 


assist  them  in  the  solution  ot"  tlieir  pnH  Icin.  Imp-^rtuncd  f<sr 
hilp.  the  National  LcaRue  on  lrl)an  Conditions  ainun^  Ncc  hs 
supplied  these  planters  with  respectable  Mmtluin  l>lacK,>  .\lio 
met  this  unusual  demand  for  lal>or  in  (,'onneciticnt.  Later,  more- 
over, it  appeared  that  on  the  threshold  of  an  miUMiallv  pronit%- 
ing  year  the  Poles,  Lithuanians  and  Czechs,  formerly  employed 
in  the  fields,  were  dwindling  in  ninnher  and  there  v\as  not  at 
hand  the  usual  supply  from  which  their  workers  were  recruited. 
A  large  number  of  these  foreigner';  had  been  called  back  t(>  their 
fatherland  to  engage  in  the  World  \\  ar. 

In  January  of  I'.UC,  therefore,  the  tobacco  growers  of  Con- 
necticut met  in  conference  to  give  tins  question  serious  consider- 
ation. Mr.  Floyd,  the  Manager  of  the  Continental  T  )bacco  Cor- 
poration, oflfered  a  solution  for  this  difificult  pmbiirm  through 
the  further  importation  of  negro  labor.  The  resp«)ns  to  this 
suggestion  was  not  in.mediate,  liecause  New  l-'nglanM  had  iie\er 
had  large  experience  with  negro  labor.  An  intense  interest  in 
the  experiment,  however,  was  aroused  through  a  immher  of 
men  with  connections  in  the  South.  It  was  decided  that  the 
National  League  on  Urban  Conditions  among  Xegroe--.  with 
headquarters  in  New  York  City,  should  further  assist  in  secur- 
ing laborers.  Because  of  the  seasonal  character  of  the  work. 
an  effort  was  made  to  get  students  from  the  southern  sciiools 
by  advancing  transportation.  The  Nm,'  York  Nnvs,,  a  negro 
weekly,  says  of  this  conference: 

Thus  was  born,  rinht  in  the  heart  of  Yankee  Land,  the  first  siRiiificant 
move  to  supplant  foreign  labor  with  native  labor,  a  step  which  has  rc>ult<.-<l 
in  one  of  the  biggest  upheav.nls  in  the  .\orth  incident  to  the  European  war, 
which  has  already  been  a  boon  to  the  colored  American,  improvinK  his 
economic  status  and  putting  thousands  of  dollars  into  his  pockets.* 

The  employers  of  the  North  felt  justified  in  bringing  about  a 
more  equitable  distribution  of  the  available  labor  supply  in 
America.  Discussing  the  labor  situation  before  a  conference 
in  New  York,  Mr.  L.  J.  Traily,  Jr..  of  the  Erie  Railroad  said : 

The  Erie  Railroad  has  employed  a  large  number  of  the  negro  migrants 
and  we  are  still  in  need  of  more  because  of  the  abnormal  state  of  labor 


'  The  .Vrti'  York  News. 


1 


TIIK   CAM     "K    THE    SKLF-SLFKICII  NT    NORTH 


iS 


conditHins  in  tlii'.  part  of  tht  country.  It  is  altOKilliir  unfair  that  the 
-uuthtrii  States  should  enforce  lawt  iirohibiiii\B  the  movmn  of  lalM)r  from 
thill  hcir.lers,  when  there  in  railroads  all  over  this  country  that  \mh\U\ 
\i»y  good  waKcs  to  ihe>c  lahort-rs,  I  know  of  one  railroad  cotiip.inv  last 
year,  whicn  never  had  a  colored  man  in  the  service,  that  was  offeniiK  lafKc 
wase.,  atnl  scouriiiK  ivery  |)Iace  for  colored  help  At  the  same  tunc  the 
South  had  and  still  has  a  surplus  of  ctorcd  labor  md  woi»hl  not  permit 
It  to  he  moved.  These  conditions  actually  exist,  and  1  know  it.  I  am 
interested  in  this  thing  not  alone  from  the  per'«onal  sidt  of  it,  but  due  to 
the  fact  of  my  association  with  thi  Erie  Railroad.  I  believe  that  the 
best  thing  that  this  hodv  can  do.  in  my  judRment.  is  to  pass  resolutions 
deinandiiiK  that  the  United  States  Emigration  Bureau  carry  out  the  act 
passed  by  Congress  empouering  the  Labor  Pepartment  to  place  unoccupied 
\mn  of  other  parts  .f  the  country  where  labor  is  needed.' 

Early  in  the  summer  of  TJlti,  the  Pennsylvania  and  Erie 
Railroads  promiscuously  picked  up  trainloads  of  negroes  from 
Jacksonville,  St.  Augustine  and  Pen.sacola.  Florida.  They  were 
at  first  grouped  in  camps.  The  promise  of  a  long  free  ride 
to  the  North  met  with  instant  favor,  and  wild  excitement  e..- 
sued  as  the  news  circulated.  Carloads  of  negroes  began  to  pour 
into  Pennsylvania.  When  they  had  once  toucheil  northern  soil 
and  discovered  that  still  higher  wages  were  l)eing  offered  by 
other  concerns,  many  deserted  the  companies  responsible  for 
their  presence  in  the  North.  Some  drifted  to  the  steel  works 
of  the  same  State;  others  left  fur  points  nearby.  Letters  written 
home  brought  news  of  still  more  enticing  tields,  and  succeeded 
in  stimulating  tlie  nK)venient.  Of  the  Il'.OOO  negroes  brought 
into  Pennsylvania  by  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad,  less  than  2.000 
remained  with  the  conipany." 

It  will  no  doubt  be  interesting  to  know  exactly  where  these 
negroes  settled  in  the  North.  For  the  purpo.se  of  understanding 
this  distribution  the  North  may  well  be  divided  according  to 
the  two  main  lines  followed  by  the  migrants  in  leaving  the 
South.  The  Soutli  and  middle  Atlantic  States  sent  the  majority 
of  their  migrants  directly  up  the  Atlantic  coast  while  the  south 
central  States  fed  the  Northwest.  There  is,  of  course,  no  hard 
line  of  separation  for  these  two  streams.    Laborers  were  sought 

»  New  York  Age,  January  30,  1917 ;  Christian  Recorder,  Philadelphia,  Feb- 
ruary 2,  1917. 
2  Ibid. 


r.rt  NLC.RO    MIGRATION-    DIRING    THK    WAR 

in  fields  most  acce>sil)le  to  the  centers  of  indr^trv.  but  imlivulual 
choice  as  displayed  in  the  extent  of  volv     <  gration  carried 

tliein  everywhere. 

The  New   I'.iif^land  States,  which  were  probably  the  first  to 
attract  tliis  labor,   were  Connecticut  and   Massachusetts.     The 
tol)acco  tields  of  Connecticut  with  Hartford  as  a  center  received 
the   tirst   nes;ro  laborers  as  mentioned   alK)ve.      P.efore  a   year 
bad  passed  there  were  over  ;J.00(>  southern  negroes  in  the  city 
of    Hartford.      Massachusetts   liad   its   new   war   plants   which 
served  as  an  attraction.     Holyoke  received  considerable  adver- 
tisement through   the   National   League  on    Urban   Conditions 
among    Negroes,   and    as   a   rc-ull    secured   a   number   directly 
from  the  South.     Boston,  which  has  always  stood  as  a  symbol 
of  lioi>e  for  those  who  .sought  relief  from  southern  conditions, 
has  not,  however,  at  any  time  alYorded  any  great  variety  of  occu- 
pations for  the  peasant  class  of  negroes.    The  receptions  staged 
by  the  negro  leaders  of  that  city  were  stimulated  apparently 
more  by  the  sentimental  causes  of  the  movement  than  any  other 
consideration.     Although  there  existed  in  Boston  the  type  of 
industries  which  required  great  numbers  of  men,  barriers  pre- 
vented negroes  in  large  numbers  from  entering  them  and  as 
a  result  there  was  no  great  influx  of  migrants  from  the  South. 
The  ])laccs  mentioned  alK)ve  are.  of  course,  only  those  which 
received  large  nuinl)ers.     Scattered  all  over  this  section  of  the 
country  were  thousands  of  individuals  who.  seeking  more  profit- 
able '.-mployment.  broke  loose  from  the  crowd  congregating  at 
favorite  points.     Xew  York  State  with  New  York  City  as  its 
center  has  received  a  considerable  nimibe'-.      New   York  City, 
however,  has  been  principally  a  rerouting  point.     In  fact,  many 
i.f  those  who  subsequently  went  to  Xew  England  first  went  to 
Xew  York  City.     The  State  of  Xew  York  recruited  its  labor 
here.     There  came  to  Xew  \'ork  probably  no  less  than  T.'i.OOO 
negroes,  a  large  portion  of  whom  stopped  in  Xew  York  City. 
although  .\ll)a!)y.  Ponghkeepsie.  Buffalo  and  .smaller  cities  re- 
ceive<l  their  share. 

.\ew    lersey.  because  of   tlie  great  number  of  its   industrial 
plants,  was  rapidly  filleii.     Newark  alone  augmented  its  colored 


THE  CALL  OF   THE  SELF-SUFFICIENT    NORTH 


population  within  a  little  over  a  year  by  one  hundred  per  cent. 
The  attractions  in  this  State  were  the  munitions  plants,  urick 
yards  and  wire  factories.  The  principal  cities  here  that  might 
be  mentioned  are  Newark,  Trenton  and  Jersey  City,  although 
the  migration  to  the  last  two  cities  hardly  compares  in  volume 
to  that  of  Newark.  Delaware,  bordering  New  Jersey,  received 
a  few.*  Washington,  the  Capital  City  and  the  gateway  to  the 
North,  already  containing  the  largest  negro  population  of  any 
city  in  the  country  was  in  the  path  of  the  migration  and  had 
its  increase  of  population  accelerated  by  the  war.  A  considerable 
number  of  southern  negroes  found  work  there,  principally  in 
domestic  service.  Pennsylvania,  the  first  northern  State  to 
Ijegin  wholesale  importation  of  labor  from  the  South,  is  the 
seat  of  the  country's  largest  steel  plants  and  is  the  terminal  of 
three  of  the  country's  greatest  railroad  systems.  Pittsburgh 
received  perhaps  the  largest  number;  Philadelphia  and  Harris- 
burg  followed  in  order.  The  numerous  little  industrial  centers 
dotting  the  State  fed  from  the  supply  furnished  by  the  railroads." 

The  migration  to  the  Northwest  was  more  extensive.  Ohio, 
the  State  of  vital  historical  association  for  negroes,  was  gener- 
ously ted.  Cleveland,  Columbus,  Cincinnati.  Akron  and 
Youngstown  were  popular  centers.  The  coal  mines,  factories 
and  iron  works  wer.  most  in  need  of  men,  and  obtained  them 
without  any  great  difficulty.  Indiana,  still  probably  remembered 
as  the  delicate  spot  in  the  inquiry  following  a  similar  migration 
thirty-nine  years  ago,  with  its  very  highly  developed  industries 
caught  the  flood  proceeding  up  the  Mississippi  valley.  Indianap- 
olis was  a  popular  point  although  not  a  satisfactory  one  for 
the  mi^Tants,  who  pretty  generally  left  it  for  better  fields.  Gary 
and  Indiana  Harbor,  more  properly  satellite  cities  of  Chicago, 
developed  an  almost  entirely  new  negro  population. 

Missouri,  a  border  State,  has  one  city  with  a  considerably 
augmented  negro  population.  The  size  of  the  new  population 
of  St.  Louis  can  be  accounted  for  by  the  fact  that  geographically 
it  is  the  first  city  of  the  North.     East  St.  Louis,  recently  made 


I 
il 


»  Fortune,  Refort  on  Kcgrc  Migration  to  the  East. 
'  Ibid. 


r.S  NEGRO    MIGRATION    DURING   THE   WAR 

notorious  by  the  reception  which  it  accorded  its  newcomers,  is 
surrounded  by  a  number  of  satellite  towns,  all  of  which  made 
bids  for  labor  from  the  South  and  received  it.  Not  a  few 
negro  lalxjrers  went  to  Kansas  City  from  which  many  were  re- 
routed to  other  points.  Nebraska  received  a  large  number  of 
migrants  as  a  direct  result  of  self-advertisement.  Omaha  was 
the  city  which  invited  them  and  received  the  bulk  of  immigra- 
tion to  that  State. 

Illinois,  the  one  State  known  throughout  the  South  because 
of  Chicago,  received  probably  the  heaviest  quota  of  any.  Located 
as  it  is  in  the  center  of  industry  for  the  Middle  West  and  known 
to  negroes  as  a  "  fair  "  State,  it  received  through  Chicago  as 
many  at  least  as  the  entire  State  of  Pennsylvania.  Chicago  is 
the  center  (jf  a  cluster  of  industrial  towns.  It  has  served  as  a 
point  of  distribution  through  its  numerous  employment  agencies 
for  the  territory  northwest  and  northeast.  Michigan  has  one 
large  city,  Detroit,  which  has  recently  increased  its  population 
one  hundred  per  cent  because  of  its  number  of  highly  developed 
industries  which  have  supplied  employment  for  its  rapidly  in- 
creasing population.* 

The  eastern  cities  which  made  efforts  through  various  means 
to  augment  their  labor  supply  were  Pittsburgh,  Philadelphia. 
Newark,  New  York  City  and  Hartford.  It  is  manifestly  im- 
possible to  get  reliable  figures  on  the  volume  of  increase  in  the 
negro  population  of  any  of  these  cities.  All  that  is  available 
is  in  the  form  of  estimates  which  can  not  be  too  confidently 
relied  upon.  Ilstimates  Ijascd  on  the  average  number  of  arrivals 
from  the  South  per  day.  the  increase  in  the  scliool  population 
and  the  opinions  of  social  agencies  which  have  engaged  them- 
selve-^  in  a(lju>ting  the  newcomers  to  their  new  l\omes  appear 
to  agree  in  the  main. 

>  These  estimates  are  based  upon  the  reports  of  investigators  sent  to  make 
a  study  of  the  condition  of  the  mi'  rants. 


CHAPTER  VI 
The  Draining  o*  the  Black  Belt 

In  order  better  to  understand  the  migration  movement,  a 
special  study  of  it  was  made  for  five  adjoining  States.  Georgia, 
Florida,  Alabama,  Mississippi  and  Louisiana,  from  which  came 
more  than  half  of  all  migrants.  The  negro  population  of  these 
five  States  was  4,115,21MJ,  which  was  almost  half  of  the  negro 
population  of  the  South.  In  the  particular  sections  of  these 
States  where  the  migration  was  the  heaviefl,  he  one  crop  sys- 
tem, cotton,  was  general.  As  a  result  of  the  cotton  price  demor- 
alization resulting  from  the  war,  the  labor  depression,  the  rav- 
ages of  the  cotton  boll  weevil,  and  in  some  regions  unusual 
floods,  as  already  stated,  there  was  in  this  section  of  the  South 
an  exceptionally  large  amount  of  surplus  labor.  The  several 
trunk  line  railroads  directly  connecting  this  section  with  the 
northern  industrial  centers  made  the  transportation  of  this  labor 
an  easy  matter. 

In  1915,  the  labor  depression  in  Georgia  was  critical  and 
work  at  remunerative  wages  was  scarce.  In  Atlanta  strong 
pressure  was  brought  to  bear  to  have  the  negroes  employed  in 
cleaning  the  streets  replaced  by  whites  who  were  out  of  work. 
It  was  reported  thit  the  organized  charities  of  Macon,  in  dealing 
with  the  question  of  the  unemployed,  urged  whites  employing 
negroes  to  discharge  the  blacks  and  hire  whites.  Mr,  Bridges 
Smith,  the  mayor  of  the  city,  bitterly  opposed  this  suggestion. 
When  the  lOl.'i  cotton  crop  began  to  ripen  it  was  proposed  to 
compel  the  unemployed  negroes  in  the  towns  to  go  to  the  fields 
and  pick  cotton.  Commenting  editorially  on  this,  the  Atlanta 
Constitution  said : 

The  problem  of  the  unemployed  in  .Albany.  Georgia,  is  being  dealt  with 
practically.  All  negroes  who  have  not  regular  employment  are  oflFered 
it   in   the  cotton   fields,   the   immense   crop   requiring  more   labor  than   the 

59 


CO 


NKr.RO    MIGRATION   DfRIN'G   THE   WAR 


plantations  onlitiarily  ha\c.  H  the  unemployed  refuse  the  opportunity,  the 
order  -move  on"  and  nut  of  the  community  is  given  by  the  chief  of  police, 
and  the  order  must  be  obeyed.  Though  the  government  is  taking  up  very 
systematically  the  problem  of  the  unemployed,  its  solving  will  be  slow,  and 
the  government  aid  for  a  long  time  will  have  to  be  supplementary  to  work 
in  tins  direction,  initiateil  in  communities,  municipalities  and  States,  where 
the  problem  of  the  unemployed  is  usually  complex.' 

In  the  course  of  time,  when  the  negroes  did  leave,  they 
departed  in  such  large  nuniliers  that  their  going  caused  alarm. 
Because  they  letl  at  night  the  number  of  negroes  going  north 
from  the  immediate  vicinity  was  nut  generally  realized.  One 
night  nearly  fifty  of  Tifton  boarded  northbound  passenger  trains, 
wliich  already  carried,  it  is  said,  some  three  hundred  negroes. 
Labor  agents  had  been  very  active  in  that  section  all  fall,  but 
so  cleverly  had  they  done  their  work  that  officers  had  not  been 
able  to  get  a  line  on  them.  For  several  weeks,  the  daily  exodus, 
it  is  said,  had  ranged  from  ten  to  twenty-five.' 

Columbus  was  an  asseml)ling  point  for  migrants  going  from 
east  Alabama  and  xvest  Georgia.  Railroad  tickets  would  be 
bought  from  local  stations  to  Columbus,  and  there  the  tickets 
or  transportation  for  the  North,  mainly  to  Chicago,  would  be 
secured.  Americus  was  in  many  respects  similarly  affected, 
having  had  many  of  its  important  industries  thereby  paralyzed. 
Al!)any,  a  railroad  center,  became  another  assembling  point  for 
migrants  from  another  area.  Although  difficulties  would  be 
experienced  in  leaving  the  smaller  places  directly  for  the  North, 
it  was  easy  to  purchase  a  ticket  to  Albany  and  later  depart  from 
that  town.  The  result  was  th:\t  Albany  was  the  point  of  de- 
parture for  .several  thousand  negroes,  of  whom  a  very  large 
percentage  did  not  come  from  the  towns  or  Dougherty  county 
in  which  Albany  is  situated.' 

^Atlanta  Constilution.  August  28,  1915. 

■■! //)!(/..  December  13,  1916.  ,  ... 

3  .\  leading  colored  physician  of  Albany  m  commenting  on  the  exodus 
said  •  "  .X  considerable  number  went  from  town  and  county.  The  number 
was  not  near  so  great,  however,  as  from  other  counties. '  He  was  of  the 
opinion  that  not  more  than  eight  or  ten  f.imilics  had  left.  He  said  that  his 
practice  had  not  been  atfected.  Individuals  came  in  from  other  sections 
and  took  the  place  of  those  who  went  away.  Ho  was  of  the  opinion  that 
the  fever  was  :\bout  over.  This  w.is  due  to  the  shortage  of  labor  created 
by  the  draft,  the  increase  in   wages  and  better  treatment,  particularly  the 


/ 


THE    DRAINING    Ot"    THE    BLACK    BELT 


CI 


A  negro  minister,  well  acquainted  with  the  situation  in  south- 
west Georgia,  was  of  the  opinion  that  the  greatest  nuniljer  had 
gone  from  Thomas  and  Mitchell  counties  and  the  towns  of 
Pelham  and  Thomasville.  Valdosta.  with  a  population  of  about 
8,000  equally  divided  between  the  races  became  a  clearing  house 
for  many  migrants  from  southern  Georgia.  The  pastor  of  one 
of  the  leading  churches  said  that  he  lost  twenty  per  cent  of  his 
members.  The  industrial  insurance  companies  reported  a  twenty 
per  cent  loss  in  membership.*    Waycross,^  a  railroad  center  in 

latter.  Tenants  on  plantations  were  receiving  better  treatment  than  they 
formerly  received.  Some  plantation  owners  as  an  indncenient  to  their 
tenants  were  furnishing  each  ■.vith  a  cow  and  a  sow.  Farm  labor  which  was 
formerly  paid  $8  to  $12  per  month,  now  received  from  $20  to  $30  per  month. 
He  said  he  knew  of  one  plantation  owner  who  was  paying  his  hands  $1.25 
per  day.  This  doctor  said  he  was  reliably  informed  that  many  negroes  had 
left  Lee  and  Calhoim  counties  and  the  whites  had  to  go  in  the  fields  and 
plow.  As  a  result  of  the  exodus,  the  white  and  colored  men  of  .Mbany 
had  got  closer  together.  He  had  recently  been  elected  a  member  of  the 
.Mbany  Chamber  of  Commerce,  and  he  understood  that  about  twelve  colored 
men  had  been  invited  to  become  members  of  the  Chamber  to  assist  in 
working  for  the  development  of  the  county. 

One  of  the  colored  druggists  in  Georgia  said  that  Albany  was  a  central 
point,  and  that  a  great  many  came  from  Cuthbert,  Arlington.  Leary  and 
Calhoun,  Early  and  .Miller  counties  to  .Albany  as  a  starting  point  for  the 
North.  Many  went  from  .Albany  to  Chicago  and  i'hiladelplua,  but  he  was 
of  the  opinion  that  the  largest  number  had  gone  to  New  Jersey.  Migration 
has  been  affected  by  the  draft  and  new  opportunities  opening  up  m  the 
South.  He  said  that  whites  became  alarmed  and  called  a  meeting  and 
invited  some  colored  persons  to  consult  with  them.— Work,  Report  on 
Migration  from  Georgia. 

I  '■  The  migration  of  negroes  from  this  city  to  the  North  set  m  agam 
this  week,  after  a  comparative  lull  of  two  months.  A  party  of  twelve  left 
here  yesterday  for  Jersey  City,  while  twenty  others  are  expected  to  leave 
shortly.  Many  women  a'c  going  with  the  men,  in  some  cases  leaving  their 
children.  Stories  of  suffering  from  cold,  brought  back  by  negroes  during 
this  winter,  checked  the  movement  considerably.  Several  luiiidrcd  negroes 
will  leave  here  this  ipring."— Atlanta  Constitution.  March  26.  1917. 

-  .A  report  from  there,  in  the  Savannah  Morning  Xews.  of  December  3, 
1916,  said:  "Hundreds  of  negroes  in  this  section  recently  have  licen  fleeced 
by  white  men  posing  as  agents  of  large  employment  bureaus  and  nuhistrial 
companies  in  the  eastern  States.  The  most  recent  instance  of  the  easy 
marks  is  reported  from  Coffee  county,  but  it  is  in  line  with  what  has  been 
happening  in  other  counties.  The  so-called  agent  collects  a  registratioii  fee, 
giving  in  return  for  the  money,  usually  one  or  two  dollars,  a  card  which  is 
said  to  entitle  the  bearer  to  a  position  at  such  and  such  a  plant.  The  negroes 
get  on  the  train  on  the  date  specified,  the  agent  meeting  them  at  the  station. 
He  tells  them  he  will  have  a  party  ticket  for  the  entire  number  and  to  tell 
the  conductor  to  collect  their  fares  from  him.  The  negroes  of  course  leave 
home  for  the  point  where  they  think  they  will  be  given  work,  and  apparently 
are  a  happy  lot.     But  when  ticket  collecting  time  comes  there  is  another 

story  to  tell.  ....  ,  ^        .    .  . 

"  Thirty-seven    negroes    the    other    day    boarded    a    northbound    train    at 

Douglas  for  Pittsburgh      The  agent   was  on  hand  to  check  each  one  and 


NEGRO   MIGRATION   DURING   THE   WAR 


the  wire  grass  sectidti  of  the  State,  with  a  population  of  7,700 
whites  and  G,7i»0  negroes,  suffered  greatly  from  ihe  migration. 
Hundreds  of  negroes  in  this  section  were  induced  by  the  em- 
ployment bureaus  and  industrial  companies  in  eastern  States 
to  abandon  their  homes.  From  Brunswick,  one  of  the  two  prin- 
cipal seaports  in  Georgia,  went  1,000  negroes,  the  chief  occu- 
pp.tion  of  whom  was  stevedoring.  Savannah,  another  important 
seaport  on  the  south  .Atlantic  coast,  with  a  population  of  about 
70,000,  saw  the  migration  attain  unusually  large  proportions, 
so  as  to  cause  almost  a  panic  and  to  lead  to  drastic  measure.s 
to  check  it. 

The  migration  was  from  all  sections  of  Florida.  The  heaviest 
movements  were  from  west  Florida,  from  Tampa  and  Jackson- 
ville. Capitola  early  reported  that  a  considerable  number  of 
negroes  left  that  vicinity,  some  going  north,  a  few  to  Jack- 
sonville and  others  to  south  Florida  to  work  on  the  truck  farms 
and  in  the  phosphate  mines.  A  large  number  of  them  migrated 
from  Tallahassee  to  Connecticut  to  work  in  the  tobacco  fields. 
Owing  to  the  depredations  of  the  boll  weevil,  many  others  went 
north.  Most  of  the  migration  in  west  Florida,  however,  was 
rural  as  there  are  very  few  large  towns  in  that  section.  Yet, 
although  they  had  no  such  assembling  points  as  there  were  in 
other  parts  of  the  South,  about  thirty  or  thirty-five  per  cent 
of  the  labor  left.  In  north  central  Florida  near  .\palachicola 
fifteen  or  twenty  per  cent  of  the  labor  left.  In  middle  Florida 
around  Ocala  and  Gainesville  probably  twenty  to  twenty-five 
j)er  cent  of  the  laborers  left,  chiefly  because  of  the  low  wages. 
The  stretch  of  territory  between  Pensacola  and  Jacksonville  was 
said  to  be  one  of  the  most  neglected  sections  in  the  South,  the 
migration  being  largely  of  farm  tenants  with  a  considerable 
number  of  farm  owners.  There  were  cases  of  the  migration 
of  a  whole  community  including  the  pastor  of  the  church.* 

then  he  got  aboard,  or  so  the  negroes  thought.  .\  few  miles  from  Douglas 
the  conductor  found  he  had  thirty-seven  ticketless  passengers  .And  none 
of  the  negroes  had  the  money  to  pay  the  fare  to  Pittsburgh.  The  train  was 
stopped,  and  the  negroes  returned  home,  wiser  and  vowing  they  were  '  done 
with  leaving  home.'  Quite  a  number  of  negroes  have  come  to  Waycross  to 
meet  agents  and  go  north.  Before  coming  here  the  negroes  of  course  had 
contributed." 
1  Work,  Report  on  the  \figration  from  Florida. 


THK  DRAINING  OF  THE  BLACK  BELT 


63 


Live  Oak,  a  small  town  in  Sewanee  county,  experienced  the 
same  upheaval,  losing  a  large  proportion  of  its  colored  popula- 
tion. Dunnelon,  a  small  town  in  the  southern  part  of  Marion 
county,  soon  found  itself  in  the  same  situation.  Lakeland,  in 
I'olk  county,  lost  about  one-third  of  its  negroes.  Not  less  than 
one- fourth  of  the  black  population  of  Orlando  was  swept  into 
this  movement.  Probably  half  of  the  negroes  of  I'alatka.  Miami 
and  De  Land,  migrated  as  indicated  by  schools  and  churches, 
the  membership  of  which  decreased  one-half.  From  3,000  to 
'».(»()()  negroes  migrated  from  Tampa  and  Ilillsboro  county. 
Jacksonville,  the  largest  city  in  Florida,  with  a  population  of 
about  3.". .000  negroes,  lost  about  G.OOO  or  8,000  of  its  own  black 
population  and  served  as  an  assembling  point  for  14.000  or 
1.'».000  others  who  went  to  the  North.' 

By  September.  191 G,  the  movement  in  Alabama  was  well 
under  way.  In  Selma  there  was  made  the  complaint  that  a  new- 
scheme  was  being  used  to  entice  negroes  away.  Instead  of  ad- 
vertising in  .Alabama  papers,  the  schemes  of  the  labor  agents 
were  proclaimed  through  papers  published  in  other  States  and 
circulated  in  Alabama.  As  a  result  there  was  a  steady  migration 
of  negroes  from  .Alabama  to  the  North  and  to  points  in  Tennes- 
see and  .Arkansas  where  conditions  were  more  inviting  and 
wages  higher.  Estimates  appear  to  indicate,  however,  that  Ala- 
bama, through  the  migration,  lost  a  larger  proportion  of  her 
negro  population  than  did  any  one  of  the  other  southern 
States.^ 

I'rom  Eufaula  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  State  it  was  re- 
ported in  September  that  trains  leaving  there  on  Sundays  in 
1!»1<!  were  packed  with  negroes  going  north,  that  hundreds  left, 
joining  crowds  from  Clayton.  Clio  and  Ozark.  There  seemed 
to  be  a  "  free  ride  "  every  Sunday  and  many  were  giving  up 
lucrative  positions  there  to  go.  The  majority  of  these  negroes, 
however,  went  from  the  country  where  they  had  had  a  dis- 
astrous experience  with  the  crops  of  the  year  lOlfi  on  account 
of  the  July  floods.'    By  October  the  exodus  from  Dallas  county 

'  Work.  Report  on  the  Migration  from  Florida. 

2  Work.  Report  on  the  Migration  from  Alabama. 

'  .Montgomery  (.^labama)  Advertiser.  September  ^7,  1916. 


i>i 


XEGRO    MIGRATION    DURIXG   THE   WAR 


liail  readied  such  alarniiii};  proiwrtions  that  farmers  and  business 
men  were  devising  means  to  stop  it. 

Bullock  county,  with  a  working  population  of  1.').000  negroes, 
lost  about  one-third  and  in  addition  alx)ut  l,r»0()  non-workers. 
The  reports  of  churches  as  to  the  loss  of  membership  at  certain 
points  justify  this  conclusion.  Hardly  any  of  the  churches 
t'scaped  without  a  serious  loss  and  the  percentage  in  most  cases 
was  from  twenty-five  to  seventy  per  cent.'  It  seemed  that  these 
intolerable  conditions  did  not  obtain  in  Union  Springs.  Ac- 
cording to  persons  living  in  Kingston,  the  wealthiest  and  the 
most  prosperous  negroes  of  the  district  migrated.  In  October, 
1910,  some  of  the  first  large  groups  left  Mobile,  Alabama,  for 
the  Xortliwest.  The  report  says:  "Two  trainloads  of  negroes 
were  sent  over  the  Louisville  and  Nashville  Railroad  to  work 
in  the  railroad  yards  and  on  the  tracks  in  the  West.  Thousands 
more  are  expected  to  leave  during  the  next  month." 

As  soon  as  the  exodus  got  well  under  way,  Birmingham  be- 
came one  of  the  chief  assembling  points  in  the  South  for  the 
migrants  and  was  one  of  the  chief  stations  on  the  way  north. 
Thousands  came  from  the  flood  and  boll  weevil  districts  to 
Birmingham.  The  records  of  the  negro  industrial  insurance 
companies  showed  the  effects  of  the  migration  both  from  and 
to  Birmingham.  The  Atlanta  Mutual  Insurance  Company  lost 
500  of  its  members  and  added  2,000.  Its  debit  for  November, 
1016.  was  $502.25;  for  Novemljer.  1!»17,  it  was  $740.  The 
business  of  the  Union  Central  Relief  .Association  was  greatly 
affected  by  the  migration.  The  company  in  1!)1G  lost  heavily. 
In  1917  it  cleared  some  money. 

The  State  of  Mississippi,  with  a  larger  percentage  of  negroes 
than  any  other  State  in  the  Union,  naturally  lost  a  large  num- 
ber of  its  working  population.     There  has  been  in  progress 


The  investigator  had  been  in  Union  ii.rings  on  a  Saturday  before  there 
was  a  migration  The  crowds  on  the  streets  were  so  great  that  it  was  difficult 
for  one  to  pass.  On  Saturday,  N'ovembcr  17,  1917,  the  investigator  was 
again  in  Union  Springs.  It  was  an  ideal  autumn  day.  Good  crops  had  been 
maile  in  the  county.  Especially  high  prices  were  being  paid  for  all  sorts  of 
farm  produce.  The  market  season  was  on.  Court  was  in  session.  The 
streets,  however,  had  about  the  crowds  to  be  found  on  some  days,  other 
than  Saturda;    '  ufore  the  migration  began. 


THE   DRAINING   OF   THE    BLACK    BELT 


05 


for  a  number  of  years  a  movement  from  the  hill  counties  of  the 
State  of  Mississippi  to  the  Delta,  and  from  the  Delta  to  Arkan- 
sas. The  interstate  migration  has  resulted  from  the  land  poverty 
of  the  hill  country  and  from  intimidation  of  the  "  poor  whites  " 
particularly  in  Amite,  Lincoln,  Franklin  and  Wilkinson  counties. 
In  1908  when  the  floods  and  boll  weevil  worked  such  general 
havoc  in  the  southwestern  corner  of  the  State,  labor  agents 
from  the  Delta  went  down  and  carried  away  thousands  of  fam- 
ilies. It  is  estimated  that  more  than  8,000  negroes  left  Adams 
county  during  the  first  two  years  of  the  boll  weevil  period. 
Census  figures  for  1910  show  that  the  southwestern  counties 
suffered  a  loss  of  IS.OOO  negroes.  The  migration  of  recent 
years  to  adjacent  States  has  been  principally  to  Arkansas.* 

Jackson,  the  capital  of  Mississippi,  seriously  felt  the  migra- 
tion. The  majority  of  the  "  lower  middle  class "  of  negroes, 
twenty-five  per  cent  of  the  business  men  and  fully  one-third  of 
the  professional  men  left  the  city — in  all  between  2,000  and 
.'..000.  Two  of  the  largest  churches  lost  their  pastors  and  aljout 
■200  of  each  of  their  memberships.  Other  churches  suffered  a 
decrease  of  forty  per  cent  in  their  communicants.  Two-thirds 
of  the  remaining  families  in  Jackson  are  part  families  with  rel- 
atives who  have  recently  migrated  to  the  North. 

For  years  the  negroes  of  Greenville  have  been  unsettled  and 
dissatisfied  to  the  extent  of  leaving.  Negroes  came  from  Leland 
to  Greenville  to  start  for  the  North,  This  condition  has  ob- 
tained there  ever  since  the  World's  Fair  in  Chicago,  when 
families  first  learned  to  go  to  that  section  whenever  oppor- 
tunities ior  establishment  were  offered  them.  Although  the 
negroes  from  Greenville  are  usually  prosperous,  during  this 
exodus  they  have  mortgaged  their  property  or  placed  it  in  the 
hands  of  friends  on  leaving  for  the  North.     Statistics  indicate 


'  The  reasons  b.ick  of  this,  as  obtained  from  migrants  themselves,  are 
that,  except  in  the  town  of  Mound  Bayou,  negroes  have  not  been  encourageii 
to  own  property  or  lent,  but  to  work  on  shares;  in  Arkansas  it  is  possible 
to  buy  good  land  chea]  ly  and  on  reasonable  terms;  inducements  are  offered 
by  .\rkansas  in  the  form  of  better  treatment  and  schools;  there  are  no  such 
"excessive"  taxes  as  are  required  in  the  Mississippi  Delta  to  protect  them 
from  the  overflows;  the  boll  weevil  has  not  yet  seriously  affected  that 
State,  and  a  small  farmer  may  be  fairly  independent  in  .Arkansas. 


Gfi  NEliRd    MICRATKtN    IU'RIXG    THE    WAR 

that  in  the  early  part  of  the  movement  at  least  1,000  left  the 
immediate  vicinity  of  (ireenville  an«l  since  that  time  others  have 
continned  to  go  in  large  numbers.' 

Greenwood,  with  a  population  evenly  balanced  between  the 
white  and  black,  had  passed  through  the  unusual  crisis  of  bad 
crt)ps  and  the  invasion  of  the  boll  weevil.  The  migration  from 
this  point,  therefore,  was  at  first  a  relief  to  the  city  rather  than 
a  loss.  The  negroes,  in  the  beginning,  therefore,  moved  into 
the  Delta  and  out  to  Arkansas  until  the  call  for  laborers  in  the 
North.  The  migration  from  this  point  to  the  North  reached 
its  height  in  the  winter  and  spring  of  IKKi  and  11)17.  The 
migrants  woulil  say  that  they  were  going  to  Memphis,  but  when 
you  ne.xt  heard  from  them  they  would  be  in  Chicago,  St.  Louis 
or  Detroit.  The  police  at  the  Illinois  Central  depot  had  been 
handling  men  roughly.  When  they  were  rude  to  one,  ten  or 
twelve  left.  Young  men  usually  left  on  night  trains.  Next  day 
their  friends  would  say,  "Ten  left  last  night,"  or,  "  Twelve  left 
last  night.'"  In  this  manner  the  stream  started.  Friends  would 
notify  others  of  the  time  and  place  of  special  trains.  The  type 
of  negro  leaving  is  indicated  in  the  decline  in  the  church  mem- 
bership. Over  oOO  of  those  who  left  were  actively  connected 
with  some  church.     During  the  summer  of  1917,  100  houses 

'  'I'he  lumber  mills  and  the  local  corporations  provide  a  great  part  of 
the  work  for  laborers  in  the  city.  Wages  last  year  ranged  from  $1^25  to 
$1.50  a  day.  Wagf;  at  present  are  $1.75  and  $2  a  day.  Cotton  picking  last 
year  hrouKlit  (>0  anil  75  cents  a  hnndred ;  at  present  $2  is  paitf  for  every 
hundred  pounds  picked.  The  city  has  enacted  "  move  on  "  faws  intending 
to  get  rul  of  drones  The  police,  it  is  said,  could  not  distinguish  drones 
from  "all  negroes." 

It  w.TS  further  complained  th.it  the  police  deputies  and  sheriffs  are  too 
free   with   the  use  of   their  clubs  and  guns   when   a   negro  is   involved.     It 

was  related  that  Dr.  ,  practising  47  years  in  (ireenville,  Mississippi,  was 

driving  his  buggy  in  a  crowded  street  on  circus  day  when  he  was  com- 
manded by  a  policeman  to  drive  to  one  side  and  let  a  man  pass.  He  replied 
tli.it  he  could  not  because  he  himself  was  jammed.  He  was  commanded 
again  and  then  dr.ngged  from  the  luiggy,  clubbed  and  haled  into  the  police 
court  and  fined.  The  officer  who  arrested  him  swore  that  he  had  given 
frenuent  trouble,  which  was  untrue  according  to  reliable  testimony  and  his 
own  st.itemcnt      This  incident  is  also  told: 

.\  policeman's  friend  needed  a  cook  The  policeman  drove  by  a  negro 
home  .111(1.  seeing  a  woman  on  the  porch,  fold  her  to  get  in  the  buggy  No 
questions  were  permitted.  She  was  carried  to  his  friend's  home  and  told 
to  work.  The  woman  prepared  one  meal  and  left  the  city  for  the  North. — 
Johnson.  Report  on  the  Migration  from  Mississippi. 


THE  DRAINING  OF  THE  BLACK  BELT 


6; 


Stood  vacant  in  the  town  and  over  300  were  abandoned  in  the 
>!cShein  add'Mon.  \s  the  crops  were  gathered  people  moved 
in  from  the  country,  from  the  southern  part  of  the  State  and 
hum  the  "hills  "  generally  to  take  the  places  of  those  who  had 
left  for  the  North, 

There  was  no  concerted  movement  from  Clarksdale,  a  town 
with  a  population  of  about  400  whites  and  «00  blacks;  but 
families  appeared  to  slip  away  because  of  the  restlessness  and 
uneasiness  in  evidence  everywhere.  I'rom  the  rural  district 
around  there  was  considerable  migration  to  Arkansas,  but  con- 
siderable numbt-^s  were  influenced  to  leave  for  Buffalo  and 
Chicago.  Mounti  Bayou  lost  some  of  its  iH)pulati(vn  also  to 
Arkansas  and  the  North,  as  they  could  buy  land  cheaper  in 
the  former  and  find  more  lucrative  employment  in  the  latter. 
Natchez  did  not  suffer  a  serious  loss  of  population  until  the 
invasion     f  the  boll  weevil  and  the  floods. 

Hattiesburg,  a  large  lumlwr  center,  was  at  the  beginning  of 
the  exodus,  almost  depopulated.  Some  of  the  first  migrants 
witit  to  Pennsylvania  but  the  larger  numl  jr  went  to  Chicago. 
It  I»ecame  a  rallying  point  for  many  negroes  who  assembled 
there  ostensibly  to  go  to  New  Orleans,  at  which  place  they 
easily  provided  for  their  transportation  to  Chicago  and  other 
points  in  the  North.  From  Laurel  in  Jones  coi  iity,  a  large 
sawmill  district,  it  is  estimated  that  between  4,000  and  5,000 
negroes  moved  north.  .Akiut  ;J,000  left  Meric'ian  for  Chicago, 
St.  Louis.  Detroit  and  Pittsburgh.  Indianola,  a  l  jwn  with  a  num- 
ber of  negro  independent  enterprises,  also  became  upset  by  this 
movement,  losing  a  considerable  number  of  progressive  families, 
(luifport,  a  coast  town  a  short  distance  from  New  Orleans,  lost 
alK)Ut  one-third  of  its  negro  population.  About  45  families 
left  Bobo  for  .Arkansas,  and  1.')  families  went  to  the  North. 
Johnstown,  Mississippi,  lost  1".0  of  its  400  negroes.' 

The  owners  of  turpentine  industries  and  lumber  plants  in 
southeastern  Mississippi  were  especially  affected  by  the  exodus. 
In  Hinds,  Copiah.  Lincoln,  Rankin,  Newton  ami  Lake  counties, 
many  white  residents  rather  than  suffer  their  crops  to  be  lost. 

'  Johnson,  kcfoit  on  the  Migration  from  Mississi;ti- 


ns 


N'i:(iR()    Mir.RATION"    lU'HlNC.    IIIK    WAR 


workcil  ill  the  fields.  It  was  reported  that  mini!>ers  of  these 
whites  were  leaving  for  the  Delta  and  for  Kentucky.  Teiiiie^see 
and  Arkansas.  Imhiis  there  attempted  Id  look  in  the  North 
that  they  niijjht  send  for  the  nc|;roes  whom  they  had  pre- 
viously employed,  pronii>inn  them  an  advance  in  wages. 

.Vt  the  same  time  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  was  carrying 
from  New  Orleans  and  other  parts  of  I,oui>iaiia  thousands  into 
Indiana,  Illinois  and  Michigan.  .\t  the  Illinois  Tentral  Railroad 
station  in  that  city,  the  agent  ha»I  heeti  having  his  hands  full 
taking  names  of  colored  laborers  wanting  and  waiting  to  go 
North.  .\l)out  the  first  of  April,  li»17,  there  came  also  the 
reports  from  New  Orleans  that  .'JOO  negro  IaI)orers  left  there 
on  the  Southern  Pacific  steamer  for  New  \'ork.  and  ")()()  more 
left  later  on  another  of  the  same  company's  steamships  Ixiund 
also  for  New  York,  it  was  said,  to  work  for  the  company. 
Thousands  thus  left  for  the  North  and  West  and  East,  the 
number  reaching  over  1,200. 

It  is  an  interesting  fact  that  this  migration  from  the  South 
followed  the  path  marked  out  by  the  Underground  Railroad 
of  antebellum  days.  Negroes  from  the  rural  districts  moved 
first  to  the  nearest  village  or  town,  then  to  the  city.  On  the 
plantations  it  was  not  regarded  .safe  to  arrange  for  transporta- 
tion to  the  North  through  receiving  and  sending  letters.  On 
the  other  hand,  in  the  towns  and  cities  there  was  more  security 
in  meeting  labor  agents.  The  result  of  it  was  that  cities  like 
New  Orleans,  Hirmingham,  Jacksonville.  Savannah  and  Mem- 
phis t)ecame  concentration  points.  From  these  cities  migrants 
were  rerouted  along  the  lines  most  in  favor. 

The  principal  difference  between  this  course  and  the  Under- 
ground Railroad  was  that  in  the  later  movement  the  southern- 
most States  contributed  the  largest  numbers.  This  perhaps  is 
due  in  part  to  the  selection  of  Florida  and  (Icorgia  by  the  first 
concerns  offering  the  inducement  of  free  transportation,  and 
at  the  same  time  it  accounts  for  the  very  general  and  intimate 
knowledge  of  the  movement  by  the  penple  in  States  through 
which  they  were  forced  to  pass.  In  Ilattiesburg,  Mississippi, 
for  example,  the  first  iiitiniatioii  of  a  great  movement  of  negroes 


THE    DRAINING   OK    THE    BLACK    BEI.T 


6» 


to  the  North  came  through  reports  that  thousands  of  negroes 
were  leaving  Florida  for  the  North.  To  the  negroes  of  Morida. 
South  Carohna.  Virginia  and  Georgia  the  North  means  Penn- 
sylvania, New  Jersey.  New  York  and  New  England.  The  route 
is  more  direct,  and  it  is  this  section  of  the  northern  expanse 
of  the  United  States  tliat  gets  widest  advertisement  through 
tourists,  and  passengers  and  porters  on  the  Atlantic  coast 
steamers.  The  northern  newspapers  with  the  greatest  circula- 
tion are  from  Pennsylvania  and  New  York,  and  the  New  York 
colored  weeklies  are  widely  read.  Reports  from  all  of  these 
south  Atlantic  States  indicate  that  comparatively  few  persons 
ventured  into  the  Northwest  when  a  better  known  country  lay 
before  them. 

The  Pennsylvania  Railroad,  one  of  the  first  to  import  laborers 
in  large  numbers,  reports  that  of  the  IJ.OOO  persons  brought 
to  Pennsylvania  over  its  road,  all  but  2.000  were  from  Florida 
and  Georgia.     The  tendency  was  to  continue  along  the  first 
definite  path.    Each  member  of  the  vanguard  controlled  a  small 
group  of  friends  at  home,  if  only  the  memlxTs  of  his  immediate 
family.    Letters  sent  back,  representing  that  section  of  the  North 
and  giving  directions  concerning  the  route  lx:st  known,  easily 
influenced  the  next  groups  to  join  their  friends  rather  than 
explore  new  fields.    In  fact,  it  is  evident  throughout  the  move- 
ment that  the  most  congested  points  in  the  North  when  the 
migration  reached  its  height,  were  those  favorite  cities  to  which 
the  first  group  had  gone.'    .\n  intensive  study  of  a  group  of  7" 
families  from  the  South,  selected  at  random  in  Chicago,  showed 
but  one  family  from  Florida  and  no  representation  at  all  from 
North  and  South  Carolina.     A  tabulation  of  figures  and  facts 
from   500  applications   for  work  by   the  Chicago  League  on 
Urban   Conditions   among   Negroes  gives  but    a    few   persons 
from   North  Carolina,   twelve   from   South  Carolina  and  one 
from  Virginia.     The  largest  number,  102,  came  from  Georgia. 
.Applicants   for  work  in   New   York   from   the  south   Atlantic 
States  are  overwhclming.- 


>  Johnson,  h'cpint  on   the  Migration  from  Mississippi. 
*  Ibid. 


<U  NEGRO    MrCRATION    OrRlXG    THE    WAR 

For  tlic  cast  and  west  south  central  States,  the  Xorthwcst 
was  more  accessible  and  l)etter  known.  St.  Louis  and  Cin- 
cinnati arc  the  nearest  northern  cities  to  the  South  and  e.xctir- 
sii  ns  have  frc(|ucntly  been  run  there  from  New  Orleans,  through 
the  State  of  Mi>si>sii)|)i.  There  are  in  St.  Louis,  as  in  other 
more  northern  cities,  little  communities  of  negroes  from  the 
different  sections  of  the  South.  The  mail  order  and  lothing 
houses  of  Chicago  have  advertised  this  city  throughout  the 
South.  The  convenience  of  transportation  makes  the  Northwest 
a  popular  destination  for  migrants  from  Mississippi.  .Alabama. 
Louisiana,  Te.xas  and  Tennessee.  The  Illinois  Central  Railroad 
runs  directly  to  New  Orleans  through  Tennessee  and  Mississippi. 

There  were  other  incidental  factors  which  determined  the 
course  of  the  movement.  Free  trains  from  different  sections 
broke  new  paths  by  over'-oming  the  obstacles  of  funds  for  trans- 
portation. No  questions  were  asked  of  the  passengers,  and.  in 
some  instances,  as  many  as  were  <lisposed  to  leave  were  carried. 
When  once  they  had  advanced  beyond  the  Mason  and  Dixon 
line,  many  fearing  that  fees  for  transportation  would  Ik?  de- 
ducted from  subsequent  pay.  if  they  were  in  the  employ  of 
the  parties  who.  as  they  un(lerst(X)d.  were  advancing  their  fares, 
deserted  the  train  at  almost  any  point  that  looked  attractive. 
I'niployment  cnuld  be  easily  securetl  and  at  good  wages.  Many 
of  tliese  unexpected  and  premature  destinations  became  the 
nucleuses  for  small  colonies  whose  growth  was  stimulated  and 
assisted  by  the  United  States  postal  service. 


CHAPTER  VII 
Efforts  to  Check  the  Movement 

The  departure  ai  the  first  negroes  u,  itally  elicited  no  concern 
from  the  authorities.  It  was  assumed  that  their  actions  were 
merely  expressions  of  the  negro's  "  love  for  travel,"  and  that 
they  would  soon  return.  When,  however,  they  did  not  return 
and  hosts  of  others  followed,  the  white  South  became  deeply 
concerned  and  endeavored  to  check  the  movement.  Throughout 
the  c.Kodus  drastic  legislation  and  force  were  employed.  In 
Alabama,  .Arkansas,  Mississippi  and  (Georgia  laws  were  passed 
in  an  cflfort  to  suppress  the  activities  of  lalxir  agents.  Licenses 
were  made  prohibitively  high;  labor  agents  were  arrested  and 
heavily  fined.  In  some  cases  their  coming  was  penalized  to 
prohibit  their  operations  entirely  and  they  frequently  suffered 
physical  injury. 

In  I'lorida  lalx)r  recruiting  early  assumed  a  serious  aspect. 
Precaution  was,  therefore,  taken  to  impede  the  progress  of  the 
work  of  lalKir  agents  among  negroes,  at  first  by  moral  suasion 
and  then  by  actual  force.  The  cities  and  towns  of  this  State 
enacted  measures  requiring  a  very  high  license  of  labor  agents, 
imposing  in  case  of  failure  to  comply  with  these  regulations,  a 
penalty  of  imprisonment.  For  example,  in  Tampa  when  these 
operations  were  Imnight  to  the  attention  of  the  authorities, 
Joe  Robinson,  a  negro  officer,  was  detailed  to  investigate  tiie 
matter.  He  discovered  that  one  Joyce  and  another  negro  named 
.\lex  Reeves  were  inqjlicated  in  the  movement.  These  men 
were  charged  with  having  collected  $7  from  each  of  several 
hundred  negroes  who  wanted  to  go  to  Peiuisylvania.  A  meet- 
ing among  the  negroes  of  Tatnpa  was  then  held  to  secure  |>ledges 
of  assistance  for  the  negro  officer,  then  making  an  effort  to 
prevent  the  exodus.  Being  under  the  impression  that  the  ig- 
norant  members  of  their  race   were  being  imposed   upon   by 

72 


EFFORTS   TO   CHECK   THE    MOVEMENT 


73 


agents  from  without,  many  of  these  leading  negroes  pledged 
themselves  to  assist  in  the  suppression  of  it.' 

In  Jacksonville,  where  the  lalx)r  agents  flourished,  the  City 
Council  .passed  an  ordinance  requiring  that  migration  agents 
should  pay  $1,000  license  to  recruit  labor  sent  out  of  the  State 
under  penalty  of  $<)00  fine  and  fiO  days  in  jail.  Several  police 
detectives  were  assigned  the  task  of  arresting  those  who  were 
said  to  be  spreading  false  reports  among  negroes  there  to  the 
effect  that  sjiecial  trains  were  ready  on  various  specified  dates 
to  take  them  to  points  in  the  Xorth.  When,  therefore,  large 
crowds  of  negroes  gathered  near  the  Union  Depot  in  Jack- 
sonville, awaiting  the  so-cailed  special  train,  they  were  handled 
rather  roughly  by  the  police  when  it  was  shown  that  they  had 
not  purchased  tickets  and  there  was  no  one  to  vouch  for  their 
transportation. 

The  same  condition  with  respect  to  the  apparent  necessity 
for  prohibitive  measures  obtained  in  Georgia.  The  local  gov- 
ernments early  took  action  to  prevent  the  drain  of  the  labor 
population  to  northern  States  through  the  operation  of  lalx)r 
agents.  It  was  soon  observed,  however,  that  these  agents  worked 
out  their  schemes  so  clandestinely  that  it  was  impossible  to 
check  the  movement  by  such  measures.  Fearing  that  the  general 
unrest  among  the  negroes  of  the  city  and  the  efforts  that  were 
being  put  forth  on  the  part  of  the  authorities  to  keep  them 
from  lieing  transported  from  Macon  to  the  North,  might  result 
in  a  riot  with  which  the  city  authorities  would  not  be  able 
to  cope.  Chief  of  Police  George  S.  Riley  recommended  to  the 
civil  service  commission  that  forty  magazine  rifles  Ije  purchased 
for  the  police  department.*  At  that  time  the  pclice  had  only 
their  pistols  and  clubs.  It  was  said  that  surliness  then  existed 
among  certain  negroes  and  the  police  wanted  to  be  able  to  cope 
with  any  situation  that  might  arise.  The  City  Council,  there- 
after, raised  the  license  fee  for  labor  agents  to  $25,000,  requir- 
ing also  that  such  an  agent  be  recommended  by  ten  local  min- 
isters, ten  manufacturers  and  twenty-five  business  men.     The 

'  Work,  Report  on  the  Migration  from  Florida. 
'  Atlantic  Constitution,  November  1,  1916. 


|4  NEGRO    MIGRATION    DURING   THE   WAR 

police  of  Macon  were  very  active  in  running  down  labor  agents 
violating  this  law. 

Americus  was  honeycombed  and  carefully  watched  and 
searched  for  persons  inducing  negroes  to  migrate,  as  there  was 
a  large  exodus  of  negroes  from  this  city  to  the  tobacco  fields 
of  Connecticut.  Negroes  attempting  to  leave  were  arrested  and 
held  to  see  if  by  legal  measures  they  could  be  deterred  from 
going  North.  The  officers  in  charge  of  this  raid  were  armed 
with  State  warrants  charging  misdemeanors  and  assisted  by  a 
formidable  array  of  policemen  and  deputy  sheriffs.  Negroes 
were  roughly  taken  from  the  trains  and  crowded  into  the  prisons 
to  await  trial  for  these  so-called  misdemeanors.  .Mthough  the 
majority  of  them  were  set  free  after  their  trains  had  left  the 
city,  the  leaders  in  most  cases  suffered  humiliation  at  the  hands 
of  the  officers  of  the  law.' 

At  Thomasville,  a  white  man  and  a  negro  were  arrested, 
charged  with  the  usual  crime  of  being  labor  agents.  Much  ex- 
citement followed.  Fearing  serious  results,  the  colored  ministers 
of  this  city  endeavored  to  stop  the  exodus.  .\  committee  of 
their  most  prominent  citizens  met  with  the  mayor  and  discussed 
the  matter  freely.  They  arranged  for  a  large  mass  meeting  of 
white  and  colored  citizens  who  undertook  to  cooperate  in  bring- 
ing the  exodus  to  an  end.  The  white  citizens  of  Waycross  ex- 
perienced the  same  trouble  with  labor  agents,  but  had  much 
difficulty  in  finding  out  exactly  who  they  were  and  how  they 
contrived  to  make  such  inroads  on  the  population.- 

The  situation  became  more  critical  in  Savannah,  one  of  the 
largest  assembling  points  for  migrants  in  the  South.  When  the 
loss  of  lalxjr  became  so  serious  and  ordinary  efforts  to  check 
it  failed,  more  flrastic  measures  were  resorted  to.  On  the  thir- 
teenth of  August,  for  example,  when  there  spread  through  the 
city  the  rumor  that  two  special  trains  would  leave  for  the  North, 
there  followed  great  commf)tion  among  the  negroes,  who.  already 
much  disturlwd  by  the  agitation  for  and  against  the  movement, 
were  easily  induced  to  start  for  the  North.     When,  at  about  five 


•  Work,  Rfforl  on  the  Migration  from  Georgia. 
»  Ibid. 


EFFORTS   TO   CHECK   THE    MOVEMENT 


75 


o'clock  that  morning,  2,000  negroes  assembled  at  the  station 
for  this  purpose,  the  county  police,  augmented  by  a  detachment 
of  city  officers,  appeared  at  the  station  and  attempted  to  clear 
the  tracks;  but  the  crowd  being  so  large  the  officers  finally  found 
their  task  impossible,  for  as  they  would  clear  one  section  of  the 
tracks  the  crowd  would  surge  to  another.  The  crowd  was 
extremely  orderly  and  good  natured  and  the  two  arrests  that 
were  made  were  for  minor  oflfenses.  As  these  trains  failed  to 
move  according  to  orders,  over  300  of  this  group  paid  their 
own  fares  and  proceeded  to  the  North.* 

A  few  days  later  Savannah  reached  a  crisis  in  the  iabor  move- 
ment agitation,  when  over  100  negroes  were  placed  under  arrest 
at  the  Union  Depot  and  sent  to  the  police  barracks.  Several 
patrol  wagon  loads  of  police  arrived  at  the  station  and  imme- 
diately a  cordon  was  formed  by  the  police  around  all  negroes 
in  the  lobby  and  every  exit  from  the  station  was  guarded.  By 
this  unusual  sight  many  persons  were  attracted  to  the  station 
and  excitement  ran  high.  Many  negroes  were  arrested  with 
a  view  to  finding  out  the  leaders  of  the  movement,  but  upon 
failure  to  discover  the  facts  in  the  case  the  lieutenant  in  charge 
ordered  the  men  in  custody  to  be  incarcerated  on  charges  of 
loitering. 

To  show  how  groundless  these  charges  were,  one  need  but 
to  note  the  character  of  some  of  the  persons  arrested.  Four 
carpenters  from  Lumpkin,  Georgia,  had  just  arrived  and  were 
waiting  for  a  contractor  for  whom  they  had  agreed  to  work  a 
short  distance  from  the  city.  Another  young  man  entered  the 
station  to  purchase  a  ticket  to  Burroughs,  Georgia,  to  see  rela- 
tives, but  he  was  not  only  incarcerated  but  had  to  give  a  bond 
of  $100  for  his  appearance  next  morning.  Another  young  man. 
working  for  the  Pullman  Company,  entered  the  tlepot  to  cash 
a  check  for  $11  when  he  was  arrested,  sent  to  jail  and  searched. 
Still  another,  a  middle-aged  man  of  most  pleasing  appearance, 
had  just  arrived  from  Jacksonville,  Florida,  and  was  waiting 
in  the  station  until  the  time  to  proceed  by  boat  that  afternoon 
to  New  York.    On  one  occasion,  J.  H.  Butler,  manager  of  the 

*  Work,  Retort  on  Ihc  MIgralion  from  Georgia. 


7U  NKGRO    MIGRATION    IH-RINT.   THE    WAR 

Saraimah   Tribune,  a  negro  newspaiwr.  was  arrested  charged 
with  violation  of  the  city  and  State  law  of  sending  labor  out 
of  the  city.     He  was  obliged  to  give  bond  of  $400  to  appear 
in  court  the  next  day.     M  the  same  time  seventeen  college  boys 
who  were  waiting  at  a  New  York  steamer  dock  were  also  appre- 
hended.   The  trial  of  the  men  before  the  recorder  proved  farcical, 
not  a  single  one  of  the  hundred  or  more  pristiners  being  required 
to  testify,     .\fter  the  chief  of  the  detective  force  and  several 
police  lieutenants  had  testified.  Recorder  Schwartz  ordered  the 
men  all  released,  but  not  l)efore  he  had  taken  occasion  to  upbraid 
the  i)olice  force  for  the  unnecessarily  large  number  of  arrests.' 
Alabama  was  equally  alive  to  the  need  to  suppress  the  migra- 
tion propaganda  among  negroes.     To  this  end  the  Montgomery 
City  Commission  on  Septeml)er  10,  l!Ur..  passed  an  ordinance 
to  the  effect  that  any  person  who  would  entice,  persuade  or 
influence  any  lalxircr  or  other  person  to  leave  the  city  of  Mont- 
gomery for  the  purjKJse  of  lieing  employed  at  any  other  place 
as  a  laborer  must  on  conviction  be  fined  not  less  than  one  nor 
more  than  one  hundred  dollars,  or  may  be  sentenced  to  hard 
labor  for  tht  city,  for  not  more  than  six  months,  one  or  both 
in  the  discretion  of  the  court.     The  other  ordinance  provided 
that  any  person,  firm  or  corporation  who  published,  printed  or 
wrote  or  delivered  or  distributed  or  posted  or  caused  to  be 
published,  printed  or  written  or  delivered  or  distributed  or 
posted,  any  advertisement,  letter,  newspaper,  pamphlet,  hand- 
bill or  other  writing,  for  the  purpt)se  of  enticing,  persuading 
or  influencing  any  laborer  or  other  person  to  leave  the  city  of 
Montgomery  for  the  purpose  of  Iwing  employed  at  any  other 
place  as  a  lalH)rer  must  on  conviction  l)e  fined  not  less  than 
one  hundred  dollars,  or  may  be  sentenced  to  hard  lalxir  for 
the  city  for  not  more  than  six  months,  one  or  l)oth  in  the  dis- 
cretion of  the  court.    I.alxir  agents  and  other  leaders  both  white 
and  black  were  arrested  throughout  the  State  in  accordance  with 
the  usual  custom  of  preferring  technical  charges.- 

The  treatment  of  the  movement  in  Mississippi  was  no  ex- 


>  Work,  Ref^rt  on  the  Migration  from  Giorgia. 
»  Work,  Report  on  the  Migration  jrom  Alabama. 


EFFORTS    TO    ClIKlK     IIIK    MOVEMENT 


77 


ception  to  the  rule.  At  Jackson,  tlic  "  pass  riders."  as  they  were 
lalleil.  were  so  molested  !)>•  the  jM.Iice  that  they  were  finally 
driven  from  the  town.  In  the  same  town  the  citizens  were 
rej)orted  to  have  forced  the  railroads  to  discontinue  the  use  of 
passes  on  the  threat  of  damajjinR  their  interests  and  influencinp 
decisions  in  court  cases.  NcRroes  were  secretly  enticed  away, 
however,  after  they  had  hecn  dispersed  ium\  the  railway  sta- 
tions and  imprisoned  when  in  the  act  of  hoarding  the  trains. 
The  police  interfered  at  one  time  with  negroes  leaving,  espe- 
cially when  it  was  suspected  that  they  were  leaving  on  passes. 
To  circumvent  this,  negroes  would  go  two  or  three  station^ 
l)elow  Jacks(»n  where  there  were  no  policemen  and  board  the 
trains.  It  was  the  unanimous  opinion  of  whites  and  blacks 
who  observed  the  almost  frantic  efforts  to  leave  the  town,  that 
any  attempt  to  hinder  by  intimidation  or  by  making  it  difficult 
to  leave,  simply  served  to  make  them  more  determined  to  leave.' 

.\t  ("ireenville.  Mississippi,  trains  were  stopped.  Negroes  wore 
dragged  therefrom  and  others  were  prevented  from  boarding 
tliem.  Strangers  were  searched  for  evidence  that  might  con- 
vict them  as  lalx)r  agents.  It  is  also  reported  that  local  authori- 
ties were  reprimanded  for  interfering  with  interstate  commerce. 
.\t  (Ireenwood  there  was  much  complaint  against  the  brutality 
of  the  police,  whose  efforts  to  intimidate  negroes  carried  them 
beyond  Ixiunds.  .\  chartered  car  carrying  fifty  men  and  women 
was  sidetracked  at  Brookhaven  for  three  days.  The  man  con- 
ducting the  passengers  was  arrested,  but  when  no  charge  was 
brought  against  him.  he  was  released.' 

A  Ilattiesburg,  Mississippi,  ticket  agent  attempted  on  the  ad- 
vice of  citizens  to  interfere  with  negroes  leaving  by  refusing 
to  sell  tickets.  Some  one  called  the  attention  of  the  general 
superintendent  to  the  matter.  Thereafter  the  man  was  courteous 
and  even  assisted  the  migrants.  Police  arrested  one  or  two  men 
at  the  station,  and,  according  to  one  of  the  men.  made  the 
crowd  so  angry  that  they  swcire  they  would  not  stop  until  all 
had  gone.     There  are  cited  further  instances  of  letters  to  plan- 


'  Johnson.  Reforl  on  the  Migration  from  Mississifpi. 
-  Ibid. 


"•^  NKCiRO    MIGRATION    DURING   THE   WAR 

tatidii  liaiuls  wliicli  were  detained  and  telegrams  which  were 
delayed.  At  Meridian.  Mississippi,  a  trainload  of  negroes  en 
route  to  the  X.irth  was  held  up  by  the  chief  of  police  on  a 
technical  charge.  It  is  said  that  the  I'niteil  States  marshal 
arrested  him  and  placed  him  under  heavy  Uind  for  delaying  the 
train.  The  federal  authorities  were  ini|)<irtuned  to  stop  the 
movement.  They  withdrew  the  assistance  of  the  Employment 
Department,  but  admitted  that  they  could  not  stop  the  interstate 
migration.* 

One  remarked,  however.  "  It  will  scarcely  lie  possible,  to  make 
a  sectional  issue  of  these  Columbus  convictions,  as  the  charge 
of  '  enticing  away  of  labor  '  in  that  country  is  aimed  at  certain 
Arkansas  planters  who  carried  away  several  carloads  of  negroes 
to  work  on  their  places,  leaving  the  Mississippi  employers  with- 
out the  labor  to  gather  or  grow  their  crops.  It  can  not,  there- 
fore, be  interpreted  as  an  attempt  to  keep  the  negro  in  semi- 
slavery  in  the  South  and  prevent  him  from  going  to  work  at 
better  wages  in  the  northern  munition  factories;  it  is  only  an 
effort  to  protect  Mississippi  employers  from  .Arkansas  planters."  - 
The  alarm  felt  over  the  exodus  prompted  the  mayor  of  New 
Orleans  to  telegraph  the  president  of  the  Illinois  Central  Rail- 
road, asking  that  his  road  stop  carrying  negroes  to  the  North. 
The  latter  replied  that  he  had  viewed  with  much  concern  the 
hea\7  exodus  of  negro  labor  from  the  South  during  the  past 
year.  and.  because  of  his  very  important  interest  in  that  section, 
it  was  not  to  his  advantage  to  encourage  it.  but  as  common 
carriers,  they  could  not  refuse  to  sell  tickets  or  to  provide  the 
necessary  transportation.  It  seemed  to  him  that  as  long  as  their 
friends  and  kinsmen  who  had  preceded  them  to  the  North  and 
r.ast  were  receiving  a  high  scale  <if  wages,  the  South  would 
have  to  look  for  continued  movement.* 

After  having  enforced  the.se  drastic  measures  without  securing 
satisfactory  results,  and  having  seen  that  any  attempt  to  hold 
the  negroes  by  force  resulted  apparently  in  an  increased  deter- 
mination to  leave,  there  was  resort  to  the  policy  of  frightening 

*  Johnson,  Re  foil  on  the  Migralion  from  .\fi.itissif'pi. 

*  Times  Pkayiiiir.  N\w  OrUvnis.  Octi)ber  1,  1016. 
"I Work,  Kefort  on  the  Migralun  from  Louisiana. 


EFFORTS   TO   CHECK   THE    MOVEMENT 


79 


the  negroes  away  from  the  North  by  circulating  rumors  as  to 
the  misfortunes  to  be  experienced  there.  Negroes  were  then 
warned  against  the  rigors  of  the  northern  winter  and  the  death 
rate  from  pneumonia  and  tulwrculosis.  Social  workers  in  the 
North  reported  frequent  cases  of  men  with  simple  cohls  who 
actually  believed  that  they  had  developed  "  consumption." 
Speakers  who  wished  to  discourage  the  exodus  reported  "  exact  " 
figures  on  the  death  rate  of  the  migrants  in  the  North  that  were 
astounding.  As,  for  example,  it  was  said  by  one  Reverend 
Mr,  Parks  that  there  were  2,000  of  them  sick  in  Philadelphia. 
The  editor  of  a  leading  white  paper  in  Jackson,  Mississippi, 
made  the  remark  that  be  feared  that  the  result  of  the  first 
winter's  experience  in  the  North  would  prove  serious  to  the 
South,  in  so  far  as  it  would  remove  the  buglicar  of  the  northern 
climate.  The  returned  migrants  were  encouraged  to  speak  in 
disparagement  of  the  North  and  to  give  wide  puWicity  to  their 
utterances,  emphasizing  incidents  of  suffering  reported  through 
the  press. 

When  such  efforts  as  these  failed,  however,  the  disconcerted 
planters  and  business  men  of  the  South  resorted  to  another 
plan.  Reconciliation  and  persuasion  were  tried.  Meetings  were 
held  and  speakers  were  secured  and  advised  what  to  say.  In 
cities  and  communities  where  contact  on  this  plane  had  been 
infrequent,  it  was  a  bit  difficult  to  approach  the  subject.  The 
press  of  Georgia  gave  much  space  to  the  discussion  of  the 
movement  and  what  ought  to  l)e  done  to  stop  it.  The  consensus 
of  opinion  of  the  white  papers  in  the  State  was  that  the  negro 
had  not  been  fairly  treated,  and  that  better  treatment  would 
be  one  of  the  most  effective  means  of  checking  the  migration. 
Mob  violence,  it  was  pointed  out,  was  one  of  the  chief  causes 
of  the  exodus.' 

The  Tifton    (Georgia)    Gasettc  commenting  on  the  causes 
said: 

They  have  allowed  nefjroes  to  be  lynched,  five  at  a  time,  on  nothinf^ 
stronger  than  suspicion:  they  have  allowed  whole  sections  to  be  depopulated 
of   them    (notably   in   scvcr.-il   north   Georgia  counties);   they  have  allowed 

'  Johnson,  Report  on   liw  Migration  from  Missiisippi. 


so 


NKt.R.)    M|(;r\iiun    I.IRIN,;    my    \\.xK 


tht m  ,o  1.C  wh„c.a,MH-.l  and  ...  1^  «.,„ppc.l.  an.l  ,lu.r  h..n,c,  burncl.  wi.I, 

K«..  -^^l.cn   any  ....,.„   wcr.   n.a.l..   at   all.     I.„,   ..«  ,„„,,,   .„■   „„•   S,..!..'. 
I.>.  lahor  „  ...K  u,  ,..c  pruc,  0...rKu  „  ,«>„,«  ,..r  unduckul  ,n...,  ac,.v„w 

pat.  If,  from    \lba.,>    (.ccrR-a,  .„  ,hc  cn.ttr  „f  ,1,.  .section  apparrntl,   ,no,t 
...I.C.C..I.  .uul  whrn.  clT-.r,,  arc  Ihu.k  nu.lc  ...  st„p  .he  cx.Hlns  bv  >prcad.nK 

n  Krcu,  1,..,  iKc.   fr..,„   ,l,o.   counties  in   wind,  tlu-rc  have-  t«on  tlu-   wor„ 

h     /b    :  ?""."  "'"7"-     "  "  '''"•'"""'  '•>  "->'*«"-"  'ha,  whore  thcr 
ha^e  ben  l.wuhn.K..  ,hc   n.Krue,  haw  In-in  n„.,t  .agcr  to  tKlicv.  what  the 

r.  M   7^'^-     <-."""'!'^»"^'l>   f^*  tu-Kroe,  have  left   D.n.Khcr.y  conntv.  winch 
..  considered  MRinhcant  in  view  ..f  ,he  fact  that  this  is  one  of  the  countie 
."  v-„thwcs.  (ieorgia  in  which  a  lynchinK  ha,  never  occr^ed. 

At  Thomasvillc.  (ieorRia.  a  mass  meeting'  of  colored  citizens 
•'I  tl.c  touti  witl,  „,any  from  the  country  was  hel.l  at  the  court 
House  ai„I  a.lclresses  were  made  by  several  promit.c.t  white 
men.  as  uell  as  I.y  several  coh.red  with  a  view  to  takiiiK  s..me 
steps  ,n  regard  to  the  exodu.  of  negroes  from  this  section  to 
the  North  and  W  est.  The  whole  sentiment  of  the  meeting  was 
very  anncal.le.  the  negroes  applauding  enthusiasticallv  the 
speeches  of  the  white  men  and  the  advice  given  l,y  them,  "keso- 
liitu.ns  were  drawn  up  l,y  a  committee  expressing  the  .lesire 
that  the  people  ,,t  the  two  races  continue  to  live  together  as 
they  have  done  :.,  the  past  and  that  steps  l,e  taken  to  adjust  a.u 
difterence  iK'tween  them.* 

After  a  conference  of  three  days  at  W  avcross.  Georgia  the 
negroes  came  to  a  decision  as  to  the  best  manner  in  which  to 
present  their  catise  to  the  white  people  with  a  view  to  securing 
their  cooperation  towanls  the  improvemetu  of  conditions  in 
the  .South  to  ni.-.ke  that  section  more  habitable.  "  There  are 
four  things  of  which  our  people  complain."  thev  said  "and 
t  ns  conference  urges  our  white  frien.ls  to  secure  for  us  these 
tinngs  with  ail  ,K.ssible  speed.  First,  more  protection  at  the 
hatuls  of  the  law.  We  ask  that  the  law  of  the  State,  ntade 
an.l  enlorced  by  white  men.  should  be  made  to  apply  with  exact 
jusfce  to  both  races.  We  have  no  symp.tthv  for  criminals, 
but  we  a>k  that  the  innocent  shall  be  protected  to  the  fullest 
^Atlanta  Coiis.'itution.  June  1,  1917. 


EKKORTS   TO   CHECK    Till:    MOVKMKNT 


81 


extent  of  the  law.  Sccoml.  tliat  tii<-rc  liberal  provisions  I*  made 
for  the  education  of  onr  |H?ople."  Ihcy  comtnendcd  Governor 
Dorscy  for  his  courageous  recotnniendation  in  his  inauKural 
ad«lress  that  an  agricultural  sch(M>l  should  be  established  for 
ncjjroes  in  some  center  in  southern  (ieorgia.  and  asked  their 
friends  everywhere  to  urge  the  menitiers  of  the  legislature  from 
the  various  counties  to  put  (lovernor  Dorsey's  noble  sentiments 
into  law.  These  memorialists  felt,  too,  that  as  far  as  possible, 
wages  should  lie  in  keeping  with  the  cost  of  living,  and  that  the 
white  people  generally  should  take  an  interest  in  the  general 
welfare  of  the  negroes.* 

Tuskegee  Institute  was  also  quick  to  ofTer  a  remedy  ior  the 
migrntion.  In  the  latter  part  of  September.  11)10,  the  institu- 
tion made  a  strong  eflfort  to  persuade  the  negro  farmers  to 
remain  on  the  land  instead  of  going  to  the  cities.  Conferences 
were  held  with  the  bankers  of  Tuskegee  and  with  many  jjlanters 
of  Macon  county  and  a  metluxl  of  dealing  with  the  situation 
was  worked  out.  This  method  embraced  a  nutnl)er  of  helpful 
suggestions  as  to  how  to  solve  their  many  perple.xing  pnjblems.* 

>  I.  D.  Davis  served  at  president  of  the  conference  and  I.  B.  Ellis  as 
secretary.  K<irm»r  Suturior  Court  Judge  T.  A.  Parker  and  V.  L.  Stanion, 
president  of  the  I  h.imbcr  of  Cottinnrcc.  were  among  the  prominent  white 
people  who  atten<ied.  It  w;is  the  sense  of  the  conference  that  the  colored 
people  as  a  race  should  do  all  in  their  power  in  the  present  crisi*  to  assist 
the  government  and,  above  all  else,  to  help  themselves  hy  conserving  food. 
The  president  of  the  conference  said  the  colored  people  had  to  work  harder 
than  ever  before  with  so  many  problems  confronting  their  country.  "  It  is 
no  time  for  loafing."  he  saiil,  "  we  must  work  early  and  late,  and  make  our 
work  count.'— .ViMdiiHo/i  Mornini)  S',-ws.  July  18,  1917. 

»The  suggestions  were:  to  encourage  the  farmer  to  plant  peanuts,  toy 
beans,  vclvtt  lK;ans  and  cotton  as  cash  crops:  to  create  a  cash  market  for 
such  crops  named  aliovt-  as  at  present  have  no  cash  market;  to  encourafje 
tenants  to  grow  fall  and  winter  gardens  and  to  plant  at  least  five  acres 
of  oats  to  the  plow,  seed  being  furnished  when  necessary  to  stipulate  in 
making  tenant  contracts  for  another  year,  that  cotton  stalks  be  plowed 
under  in  the  fall,  that  special  methods  of  combating  the  boll  weevil  be  used 
To  advance  no  more  than  $25  to  the  plow,  and,  in  every  case  possible  to 
refram  from  any  advance:  to  encourage  land  holders  to  rent  land  for  part 
of  the  crops  grown;  to  urge  the  exercise  of  leniency  on  unpaid  notes  and 
mortgages  due  from  thrifty  and  industrious  farmers  so  as  to  give  them  a 
chance  to  recover  from  the  boll  weevil  conditions  and  storm  losses ;  to  create 
a  market  lasting  all  year  for  such  crops  as  hay.  cow-peas,  sweet  potatoes, 
poultry  and  liv<-  stock ;  to  urge  everybody  to  build  fences  and  make  pastures 
so  as  to  grow  more  live  stock  and  to  produce  more  nearly  all  of  the  supplies 
used  on  the  farm :  to  carry  on  a  food  campaign  in  the  country,  devoting 
the  first  Sunday  m  October  to  the  work  of  urging  the  people  to  plant  gardens 
anH   sow   oats,   and   to  organize   a    Farmers'   Loan   Association   in   Macon 


and 


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=  u.-J 


82  NEGRO   MIGRATION   DURING  THE   WAR 

At  the  twenty-sixth  annual  negro  conference  at  Tuskegee  In- 
stitute, the  institution  took  that  occasion  to  send  through  certain 
declarations  a  message  to  the  negroes  of  the  South.  These  decla- 
rations recited  the  distress  and  suffering  impelling  the  negroes 
to  migrate,  expressing  the  appreciation  of  the  necessity  to  do 
something  to  lietter  their  condition  by  embracing  the  new  oppor- 
tunities offered  them  in  the  North.  On  the  other  hand,  this  in- 
stitution felt  that  there  were  many  permanent  opportunities  for 
the  masses  of  the  colored  people  in  the  South,  which  is  now 
entering  upon  a  great  era  of  development.  Among  these  are 
the  millions  of  acres  of  land  yet  to  be  cultivated,  cities  to  be 
built,  railroads  to  be  extended  and  mines  to  be  worked.  These 
memorialists  considered  it  of  still  greater  importance  to  the 
negro  that  in  the  South  they  have  acquired  land,  buildings,  etc.. 
valued  at  about  five  hundred  million  dollars.  The  negroes  were, 
therefore,  urged  to  stay  on  the  soil  which  they  owned. 

Addressing  a  word  to  the  white  people  of  the  South,  the  con- 
ference said  that  the  disposition  of  so  many  of  the  blacks  to 
leave  is  not  because  they  do  not  love  the  Southland  but  because 
they  believe  that  in  the  North  they  will  not  only  have  more 
opportunity  to  get  more  money  but  that  they  will  get  better 
treatment,  Ijetter  protection  under  the  law  and  Ijetter  school 
facilities  for  their  children.  The  conference  urged,  therefore, 
that  the  southern  white  people  avail  themselves  of  their  greatest 
opportunity  to  cooperate  with  the  blacks  in  ibe  various  com- 
munities and  have  a  thorough  understanding  as  to  working  for 
the  common  welfare  of  all.  The  delegates  believed  that  the 
time  had  come  for  the  best  element  of  the  whites  and  blacks 
to  unite  to  protect  the  interests  of  both  races  to  the  end  that 
more  effective  work  may  be  done  in  the  upbuilding  of  a  greater 

South.' 

In  the  same  way  the  people  of  Mississippi  soon  discovered 
that  any  attempt  forcibly  to  hold  negroes  resulted  apparently 
in  an  increased  determination  to  leave.     Nor  was  it  sufficient 

county  to   work   with   the   Farmers'   Loan   Bank  being   established   by   the 

United  States  Government.  .    t     i,  „.., 

'  Report    of    the    Twenty-sixth    Annual    Negro   Conference   at    Tuskegee 

Institute. 


EFFORTS   TO    CHECK    THE    MOVEMENT 


83 


to  warn  the  negroes  against  the  rigors  of  the  northern  winter 
and  the  death  rate  from  pneumonia  and  tuberculosis.  In  Green- 
wood. Mississippi,  J;  '  difficulty  was  circumvented  by  using  the 
Red  Cross  and  the  iood  conservation  meetings  as  a  forum  for 
the  discussion  of  the  movement.  This  was  the  first  time  that 
the  negroes  and  whites  of  Greenwood  had  met  to  discuss  matters 
of  mutual  welfare.  Bishop  W.  P.  Thirkield  of  New  Orleans 
addressed  a  body  of  negroes  and  whites  on  the  movement.  He 
suggested  that  whites  get  representative  colored  persons  together 
and  find  the  cause.  He  also  suggested  a  remedy  through  better 
treatment,  more  wages  and  more  cooperation  between  the  races. 
Xegro  ministers  stated  that  they  were  offered  sums  of  money 
by  bankers,  planters  and  merchants  to  speak  in  discouragement 
of  the  movement.  Some  spoke,  and  others,  by  far  the  greater 
number,  seem  to  have  remained  neutral.* 

It  was  found  necessary  to  increase  wages  from  ten  to  twenty- 
five  per  cent  and  in  some  cases  as  much  as  100  per  cent  to 
hold  labor.  The  reasons  for  migration  given  by  negroes  were 
sought.  In  almost  all  cases  the  chief  complaint  was  about  treat- 
ment. An  effort  was  made  to  meet  this  by  calling  conferences 
and  by  giving  publicity  to  the  launching  of  a  campaign  to  make 
unfair  settlements  and  other  such  grievances  unpopular.  Thus, 
in  Bolivar  county,  Mississippi,  a  meeting  was  called,  ostensibly 
to  look  after  the  economic  welfare  of  the  Delta  country,  but 
in  reality  to  develop  some  plan  for  holding  labor.  A  subcom- 
mittee of  seventeen  men  was  appointed  to  look  into  the  labor 
situation.  There  were  twelve  white  men  and  five  negroes.  The 
subcommittee  met  and  reported  to  the  body  that  the  present 
labor  shortage  was  due  to  the  migration,  and  that  the  migration 
was  due  to  a  feeling  of  insecurity  before  the  law,  the  unrestrained 
action  of  mobs,  unfair  methods  of  yearly  settlement  on  farms 
and  inadequate  school  facilities.  As  a  result  of  the  report,  it 
was  agreed  to  make  an  appropriation  of  $25,000  towards  an 
agricultural  high  school,  as  a  step  towards  showing  an  interest 
in  the  negroes  of  Bolivar  county  and  thus  give  them  reasons 
for  remaining.     A  campaign  was  started  to  make  unpopular 

'Johnson,  Report  on  the  Migration  from  Mississippi. 


i 


i  ! 


84 


NEORO    MIGRATION    OrRING   THE    WAR 


the  practice  among  farmers  of  robbing  negroes  of  the  returns 
from  their  labor,  and  a  general  effort  was  made  by  a  few  of 
the  leading  men  behind  the  movement  to  create  "  a  better  feel- 
ing "  between  the  races.' 

Wide  publicity  was  given  to  the  experiment  in  plantation 
government,  and  the  policy  was  accepted  by  a  number  of  planters 
as  opportunistic  action.  Thus,  one  Mr.  Abbott  of  Natchez. 
Mississippi,  told  the  planters  of  his  section  that  good  treatment, 
adequate  and  sympathetic  oversight  are  the  important  factors 
in  any  effort  to  hold  labor.  He  made  a  trip  to  his  farm  every 
week,  endeavoring  to  educate  his  tenants  in  modes  of  right 
living.  Every  man  on  his  place  had  a  bank  account  and  was 
apparently  satisfied.  This  example  was  presented  with  the  state- 
ment that  where  these  methods  had  been  used,  few  had  left. 
One  planter  purchased  twenty-eight  Ford  automobiles  to  sell 
on  easy  terms  to  his  tenants  with  the  hoj,e  of  contenting  them. 

The  newspapers  published  numerous  letters  from  southern 
negro  leaders  urging  negroes  to  consider  well  their  step,  assert- 
ing that  the  .'^outh  is  the  best  place  for  them  and  that  the 
southern  white  man  knows  them  and  will  in  consequence  be 
more  lenient  with  their  shortcomings.  The  papers  further  urged 
an  increase  in  wages  and  better  treatment.  Wherever  possible, 
there  were  published  articles  which  pointed  to  the  material  pros- 
perity of  negroes  in  the  South.  For  example,  a  writer  of  Gre«*n- 
ville,  said  of  negroes'  loyalty  in  1917: 

The  prosperity  as  well  as  the  patriotism  of  the  negro  farmer  has  been 
shown  in  the  purchase  of  Liberty  Bonds  in  the  Delta.  Many  colored  farm 
laborers  subscribed  for  bonds.  Every  family  on  the  place  of  Planter  C.  D. 
Walcott,  near  Hollandale,  took  a  bond,  while  one  negro,  Boley  Cox,  a 
renter,  bought  bonds  to  the  amount  of  $1,000  and  gave  his  check  for  the 
total  amount  out  of  the  savings  of  this  year  from  his  crop  and  still  has 
cotton  to  sell.  There  are  negro  families  on  Delta  plantations  making  more 
money  this  year  than  the  salary  of  the  governor  of  the  State. 

When  migrants  could  be  induced  to  talk  freely,  they  com- 
plained also  against  the  treatment  in  the  courts.  Some  of  the 
cities  consequently  are  known  to  have  suspended  their   raids 

1  Johnson,  Report  on  th-c  Migration  from  Mississippi. 


EFFORTS   TO   CHECK   THE   MOVEMENT 


85 


and  arrests  on  petty  charges.  In  some  instances  the  attempts 
at  pacification  reached  almost  incredible  bounds.  For  example, 
a  negro  missed  connection  with  his  train  through  the  fault 
of  the  railroad.  His  white  friend  advised  him  to  bring  suit. 
This  he  did  and  urged  as  his  principal  grievance  that  he  was 
stranded  in  a  strange  town  and  was  forced  to  sleep  in  quarters 
wholly  at  the  mercy  of  bed  bugs.  It  is  said  that  he  was  awarded 
damages  to  the  extent  of  $800.  A  Jackson,  Mississippi,  daily 
paper  that  had  been  running  a  column  of  humorous  incidents 
about  negroes  taken  from  the  daily  court  sessions,  which  was 
very  distasteful  to  the  colored  people  of  the  city,  discontinued 
it.  S  ch  methods  as  these  have  been  the  only  ones  to  prove 
effective  in  bringing  about  an  appreciable  stem  in  the  tide. 
With  tV-^  advent  of  the  United  States  Government  constructing 
cantonments  and  establishing  manufacturing  plants  in  the  South, 
the  millions  thus  diverted  to  that  section  have  caused  such  an 
increase  in  wages  that  the  movement  has  been  decidedly  checked. 


CHAPTER  VIII 
Effects  of  the  Movement  on  the  South 

The  first  changes  wrought  by  this  migration  were  unusually 
startling.  Homes  found  themselves  without  servants,  factories 
could  not  operate  because  of  the  lack  of  labor,  farmers  were 
unable  to  secure  laborers  to  harvest  their  crops.  Streets  in  towns 
and  cities  once  crowded  assumed  the  aspect  of  deserted  thorough- 
fares, houses  in  congested  districts  became  empty,  churches, 
lodges  and  societies  suffered  such  a  large  loss  of  membership 
that  they  had  to  close  up  or  undergo  reorganization. 

Probably  the  most  striking  change  was  the  unusual  increase 
in  wages.  The  wages  for  common  lalx)r  in  Thomasville,  Georgia, 
increased  almost  certainly  100  per  cent.  In  Valdosta  there  was 
a  general  increase  in  the  town  and  county  of  about  50  per  cent, 
in  Brunswick  and  Savannah  the  same  condition  obtained.  The 
common  laborer  who  had  formerly  received  80  cents  a  day 
earned  thereafter  $1..50  to  $1.75.  Farm  hands  working  for 
from  $10  to  $15  per  month  were  advanced  to  $20  or  $.'55  per 
month.  Brick  masons  who  had  received  50  cents  per  hour 
thereafter  earned  fi2'/j  cents  and  70  cents  per  hour.  In  Savan- 
nah common  laborers  paid  as  high  as  $2  per  day  were  advanced 
to  $;}.  At  the  sugar  refinery  the  rates  were  for  women,  15  to 
22  cents  per  hour,  men,  22  to  .'50  cents  per  hour.  In  the  more 
skilled  lines  of  work,  the  wages  were  for  carpenters,  $4  to  $ ". 
per  day,  painters,  $2.50  to  $4  per  day,  and  bricklayers  $4  to 
$5  per  d?y. 

The  increase  in  the  Birmingham  district  may  be  studied 
as  a  type  of  the  changes  effected  in  the  industrial  centers  of 
the  South,  as  Birmingham  is  a  great  coal  mining  center  and, 
with  the  exception  of  Pittsburgh,  is  the  greatest  iron  ore  dis- 
trict in  the  United  States.  On  November  6,  1917,  the  average 
daily  wage  earnings  of  forty-five  men  was  $5.49.    On  Xovem- 

86 


EFFECTS  OF   THE   MOVEMENT   ON    THE   SOUTH 


87 


ber  10,  1917,  the  average  for  seventy-five  men  was  $5.30.  One 
man  was  earning  $10  a  day,  two  $9  to  $10  a  day,  five  $8  to  $9, 
six  $7  to  $8,  ten  $6  to  $7,  fourteen  $5  to  $0,  thirty-two  $4  to 
$5,  nine  $3  to  $4,  and  six  under  $3.  In  the  other  coal  and 
iron  ore  sections  the  earnings  had  been  similarly  increased.' 

In  Mississippi,  largely  a  farming  section,  wages  did  not  in- 
crease to  the  extent  that  they  did  in  Alabama,  but  some  increase 
was  necessary  to  induce  the  negroes  to  remain  on  the  planta- 
tions and  towns  to  keep  the  industries  going.  It;  Greenville 
wages  increased  at  first  about  ten  per  cent  but  this  did  not 
suffice  to  stop  the  migration,  for,  because  of  the  scarcity  of 
labor,  factories  and  stores  had  to  employ  white  porters,  drug- 
gists had  to  deliver  their  own  packages  and  firms  had  to  resort 
to  employing  negro  women.  On  the  farms  much  of  the  crop 
was  lost  on  account  of  the  scarcity  of  labor.  In  Greenwood 
wages  of  common  laborers  increased  from  $1  and  $1.25  to  $1.75 
per  day.  Clarksdale  was  also  compelled  to  offer  laborers  more 
remuneration.  Vicksburg  found  it  necessary  to  increase  the 
wages  of  negroes  from  $1.25  to  $2  per  day.  There  were  laborers 
on  steamboats  who  received  $75  to  $100  per  month. 

At  Leland  500  to  1,000  men  received  $1.75  per  day.  The 
oil  mills  of  Indianola  raised  the  wages  of  the  negroes  from 
$1.50  to  $2  per  day.  At  Laurel  the  average  daily  wage  was 
raised  from  $1.35  to  $1.G5,  the  maximum  wage  being  $2.  Wages 
increased  at  Meridian  from  90  cents  and  $1.25  to  $1.50  and 
$1.75  per  day.  The  wholesale  houses  increased  the  compensa- 
tion of  their  employes  from  $10  to  $12  per  week.  From  $1.10 
in  Hattiesburg  the  daily  wage  was  raised  to  $1.75  and  $2  per 
day.  Wages  in  Jackson  increased  from  $1  and  $1.25  to  $1.35 
and  $1.50  per  day.  In  Natchez  there  was  an  increase  of  25 
per  cent.  On  the  whole,  throughout  the  State  there  was  an 
increase  of  from  10  to  30  per  cent  and  in  some  instances  of 
as  much  as  100  per  cent.* 

Throughout  the  South  there  was  not  only  a  change  in  policy 
as  to  the  method  of  stopping  the  migration  of  the  blacks  to 

'  Work,  Report  on  the  Migration  from  Alabama. 
'  Johnson,  Report  on  the  Migration  from  Mississippi. 


:  ( 


88 


NEGRO    MIGRATION    Ul'RlNG   THE   WAR 


the  Xorth,  but  a  change  in  the  economic  policy  of  the  South. 
Southern  business  men  and  planters  soon  found  out  that  it  was 
impossible  to  treat  the  negro  as  a  serf  and  began  to  deal  with 
him  as  an  actual  employe  entitled  to  his  share  of  the  returns 
from  his  lalxir.  It  was  evident  that  it  would  be  very  much 
l)etter  to  have  the  negroes  as  coworkers  in  a  common  cause 
than  to  have  them  alxmdon  their  occupations  in  the  South,  leav- 
ing their  employers  no  opportunity  to  secure  to  themselves  ade- 
quate income  to  keep  them  above  want. 

A  more  difficult  change  of  attitude  was  that  of  the  labor 
unions.  They  had  for  years  been  antagonistic  to  the  negroes 
and  had  begun  to  drive  them  from  many  of  the  higher  pursuits 
of  labor  which  they  had  even  from  the  days  of  slavery  monopo- 
lized. The  skilled  negro  laborer  has  gradually  seen  his  chances 
grow  less  and  less  as  the  labor  organizations  have  invaded  the 
South.  In  the  end,  however,  the  trade  unions  have  been  com- 
pelled to  yield,  although  complete  economic  freedom  of  the  negro 
in  the  South  is  still  a  matter  of  prospect. 

There  was,  too,  a  decided  change  in  the  attitude  of  the  whole 
race  toward  the  blacks.  The  white  people  could  be  more  easily 
reached,  and  very  soon  there  was  brought  about  a  better  under- 
standing between  the  races.  Cities  gave  attention  to  the  im- 
provement of  the  sanitary  condition  of  the  negro  sections,  which 
had  so  long  been  neglected;  negroes  were  invited  to  take  part 
in  the  clean-up  week;  the  Women's  Health  League  called  special 
meetings  of  colored  women,  conferred  with  them  and  urged  them 
to  organize  community  clubs.  Committees  of  leading  negroes 
dared  to  take  up  with  their  employers  the  questions  of  better 
accommodations  and  better  treatment  of  negro  labor.  Members 
of  these  committees  went  before  chambers  of  commerce  to  set 
forth  their  claims.  Others  dared  boldly  to  explain  to  them  that 
the  negroes  were  leaving  the  South  because  they  had  not  been 
given  the  treatment  which  should  be  accorded  men. 

Instead  of  expressing  their  indignation  at  such  efforts  on 
the  part  of  the  negroes,  the  whites  listened  to  them  attentively. 
Accordingly,  joint  meetings  of  the  whites  and  blacks  were  held 
to  hear  frank  statements  of  the  case   from  speakers  of  both 


EFFECTS  OF   THE   MOVEMENT   ON   THE   SOUTH  SO 

races.  One  of  the  most  interesting  of  these  meetings  was  the 
one  held  in  Birmingham.  Alabama.  The  negroes  addressing 
the  audience  frankly  declared  that  it  was  impossible  to  !)ring 
back  from  the  North  the  migrants  who  were  making  good  there, 
but  that  the  immediate  problem  requiring  solution  was  how  to 
hold  in  the  South  those  who  had  not  gone.  These  negroes  made 
it  clear  that  it  was  impossible  for  negro  leaders  through  the 
pulpit  and  press  to  check  the  movement,  but  that  only  through 
a  change  in  the  attitude  of  the  whites  to  the  blacks  could  the 
latter  be  made  to  feel  that  the  Southland  is  safe  for  them. 

Here  we  see  the  coming  to  pass  of  a  thing  long  desired  by 
those  interested  in  the  welfare  of  the  South  and  long  rejected 
by  those  who  have  always  prized  the  peculiar  interest  of  one 
race  more  highly  than  the  welfare  of  all.  White  men,  for  the 
first  time,  were  talking  on  the  streets  with  negroes  just  as  white 
men  talk  with  each  other.  The  merchants  gave  their  negro 
patrons  more  attention  and  consideration.  A  prominent  white 
man  said,  "  I  have  never  seen  such  changes  as  have  come  about 
within  the  last  four  months.  I  know  of  white  men  and  negroes 
who  have  not  dared  to  speak  to  one  another  on  the  streets  to 
converse  freely."  The  suspension  of  harsh  treatment  was  so 
marked  in  some  places  that  few  negroes  neglected  to  mention  it. 
In  Greenwood  and  Jackson,  Mississippi,  the  police  were  in- 
structed to  curtail  their  practices  of  beating  negroes.  Several 
court  cases  in  which  negroes  were  involved  terminated  favorably 
for  them.  There  followed  directly  after  the  exodus  an  attempt 
at  more  even  handed  justice,  or  at  least  some  conciliatory  meas- 
ures were  adopted.  The  authorities  at  Laurel,  Mississippi,  were 
cautioned  to  treat  negroes  better,  so  as  to  prevent  their  leaving. 
There  is  cited  the  case  of  a  negro  arrested  on  an  ambiguous 
charge.  He  was  assigned  to  the  county  chain  gang  and  put 
to  work  on  the  roads.  At  this  time  the  treatment  in  the  courts 
was  lx:ing  urged  by  negroes  as  a  reason  for  leaving.  This 
negro's  case  was  discussed.  He  was  sent  back  from  the  county 
roads  alone  for  a  shovel.  He  did  not  return;  and  his  return 
was  not  expected.' 

'  Johnson,  Report  on  th-c  Migration  from  Mississippi. 


I    \ 


00 


NECRO    MIGRATION    DIRING   THE    WAR 


Conferences  of  negroes  and  whites  in  Mississippi  emphasized 
the  necessity  of  cooperation  between  the  races  for  their  common 
good.  The  whites  said,  to  qnote  a  negro  lalK)rer,  "  We  must 
just  get  together."  A  negro  said :  "  The  dominant  race  is  just 
a  bit  less  dominant  at  present."  "  W'c  are  getting  more  con- 
sideration and  appreciation."  said  another.  From  anotlicr  quar- 
ter came  the  remark  that  "  instead  of  the  old  proverbial  accu- 
sation— shiftles.>  and  unrelial)le — negro  labor  is  being  heralded 
as  '  the  only  dependable  labor  extant,  etc'  "  '  A  general  re- 
view of  the  results  made  it  dear  that  there  was  a  disiKjsition 
on  the  part  of  the  white  population  to  give  some  measure  of 
those  benefits,  the  denial  of  which  was  alleged  as  the  cause 
of  the  exodus.  For  those  who  remained  conditions  were  much 
more  tolerable,  although  there  appeared  to  persist  a  feeling  of 
apprehension  that  these  concessions  would  be  retracted  as  soon 
as  normal  times  returned.  Some  were  of  the  opinion  that  the 
exodus  was  of  more  assistance  to  those  negroes  who  stayed  be- 
hind than  to  those  who  went  away. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  white  people  in  the  South  began 
to  direct  attention  to  serious  work  of  reconstruction  to  make 
that  section  inviting  to  the  negro.  Bolivar  county,  Mississippi, 
as  a  direct  result  of  tl  recommendation  of  the  labor  committee, 
made  an  appropriation  of  $25,000  toward  an  agricultural  high 
school,  the  first  of  its  kind  in  the  State.  The  school  boards 
of  Coahoma  and  Adams  counties  have  appointed  Jeanes  Founda- 
tion Supervisors  and,  in  Coahoma  county,  promised  a  farm 
demonstration  agent.  They  also  made  repairs  on  the  school 
buildings  in  towns,  and  prominent  whites  have  expressed  a 
willingness  to  duplicate  every  dollar  negroes  raise  for  rural 
school  improvements.  A  large  planter  in  the  Big  Creek  neigh- 
borhood has  raised,  together  with  his  tenants,  $1,000  for  schools 
and  the  superintendent  of  schools  has  gone  over  the  county 
urging  planters  to  give  land  for  negro  schools.  Two  other  large 
planters,  whose  tenants  number  into  the  hundreds,  have  made 
repairs  on  the  schoolhouses  on  their  plantations.  The  Mississippi 
Council  of  Defense  passed  a  resolution  calling  upon  the  State 

>  Johnson,  Report  on  the  Migration  from  Mississippi. 


EFFKCTS   OF   THE   MOVEMENT   ON    THE   SOfTH 


01 


to  put  a  farm  denionstratur  and  home  economics  agent  to  work 
in  rural  cnmnuinities  to  make  living  conditions  better  in  the 
effort  to  induce  the  people  to  stay. 

This  upheaval  in  the  South,  according  to  an  investigator,  will 
be  helpful  to  all. 

The  decrease  in  the  black  population  in  those  communities  where  the 
negroes  outnumber  the  whi'es  will  remove  the  fear  of  negro  domination. 
Many  of  the  expensive  precautions  which  the  southern  people  have  taken 
to  keep  the  negroes  down,  much  of  the  terrorism  incited  to  restrain  the 
blacks  from  self-assertion  will  no  longer  be  considered  necessary;  for, 
having  the  excess  in  numbers  on  their  side,  the  whites  will  finally  rest 
assured  that  the  negroes  may  be  encouraged  without  any  apprehension  that 
they  may  develop  enough  power  to  subjugate  or  embarrass  their  former 
masters. 

The  negroes,  too,  are  very  much  in  demand  in  the  South  and  the  intelli- 
gent whites  will  gladly  give  them  larger  opportunities  to  attach  them  to 
that  section,  knowing  that  the  blacks,  once  conscious  of  their  power  to  move 
freely  throughout  the  country  wherever  they  may  improve  their  condition, 
will  never  endure  hardships  like  those  formerly  inflicted  upon  the  race. 
The  South  is  already  learning  that  the  negro  is  the  most  desirable  labor  for 
that  section,  that  the  persecution  of  negroes  not  only  drives  them  out  but 
makes  the  employment  of  labor  such  a  problem  that  the  South  will  not  be 
an  attractive  section  for  capital.  It  will,  therefore,  be  considered  the  duty 
of  business  men  to  secure  protection  to  the  negroes  lest  their  ill  treatment 
force  them  to  migrate  to  the  extent  of  bringing  about  a  stagnation  of 
business. 

The  exodus  has  driven  home  the  truth  that  the  prosperity  of  the  South 
is  at  the  mercy  of  the  negro.  Dependent  on  cheap  labor,  which  the  bull- 
dozing whites  will  not  readily  furnish,  the  wealthy  southerners  must  finally 
reach  the  position  of  regarding  themselves  and  the  negroes  as  having  a 
community  of  interests  which  each  must  promote.  "  Nature  itself  in  those 
States,"  Douglass  said,  "came  to  the  rescue  of  the  negro.  He  had  labor, 
the  South  wanted  it,  and  must  have  it  or  perish.  Smce  he  was  free  he 
could  then  give  it,  or  withhold  it ;  use  it  where  he  was,  or  take  it  elsewhere, 
as  he  pleased,  flis  labor  made  him  a  slave  and  his  labor  could,  if  he  would, 
make  him  free,  comfortable  and  independent.  It  is  more  to  him  than  either 
fire,  sword,  ballot  boxes  or  bayonets.  It  touches  the  heart  of  the  South 
through  its  pocket."  Knowing  that  the  negro  has  this  silent  weapon  to  be 
used  against  his  employer  or  the  community,  the  South  is  already  giving 
the  race  better  educational  facilities,  better  railway  accommodations,  and 
will  eventually,  if  the  advocacy  of  certain  southern  newspapers  be  heeded, 
grant  them  political  privileges.  W'ages  in  the  South,  therefore,  have  risen 
even  in  the  extreme  southwestern  States,  where  there  is  an  opportunity  to 
import  Mexican  labor.  Reduced  to  this  extremity,  the  southern  aristocrats 
have  begun  to  lose  some  of  their  race  prejudice,  which  has  not  hitherto 
yielded  to  reason  or  philanthropy. 


03 


NKC.RO    MIC.RATION'    DfRIXG   THE   WAR 


Southern  men  arf  telling  tlu'ir  iiviKhburs  tliat  their  si'Ction  must  al)anil<)n 
the  piilicy  of  trcatuiK  tlu  ueKruci  u«  a  prublcm  and  cun^truct  a  program 
for  rccoKnitioii  rather  than  for  repression.  MectuiKS  are,  tlr.-refure,  hviwn 
held  to  tind  out  what  the  negroes  want  ami  what  may  be  done  to  keep  them 
coiitotitid.  They  are  told  that  tlic  neuro  must  be  clevatcil,  not  exploited; 
that  to  make  the  South  what  it  must  needs  be,  the  cooperation  of  all  is 
needed  to  train  and  equip  the  men  of  all  races  for  efficiency.  The  aim  of 
all  then  must  be  to  reform  or  Ki't  rid  of  the  unfair  proprietors  who  do  not 
jfive  their  tenants  a  fair  division  of  the  returns  from  their  lalxir.  To 
this  end  the  best  whites  and  blacks  are  urged  to  come  together  to  find  a 
working  basis  for  a  systematic  efTort  in  the  interest  of  atl.^ 

Another  evidence  of  the  beneficent  effects  of  the  decrease  in 
the  population  in  the  IJhuk  Helt  of  the  Soutli  is  the  interest  now 
ahnost  generally  manifested  in  the  improvement  of  the  negro 
quarters  in  southern  cities.  For  a  number  of  years  science  has 
made  an  appeal  in  behalf  of  the  thoroughly  clean  city,  knowing 
tliat  since  the  germ  does  not  draw  the  color  line,  a  city  can  not 
be  kept  clean  as  long  as  a  substantial  portion  of  its  citizens  are 
crowded  into  one  of  its  oldest  and  least  desirable  parts,  neglected 
by  the  city  and  avoided  by  the  whites.  Doing  now  what  science 
has  hitherto  failed  to  accomplish,  this  peculiar  economic  need 
of  the  negro  in  the  South  has  brought  about  unusual  changes 
in  the  appearance  of  southern  cities.  Darkened  portions  of  ur- 
ban districts  have  been  lighted;  streets  in  need  of  improvement 
have  been  paved;  the  water,  light  and  gas  systems  have  been 
extended  to  negro  quarters  and  play  grounds  and  parks  have 
been  provided  for  their  amusement. 

No  less  important  has  been  the  effect  of  the  migration  on 
the  southern  land  tenure  and  the  credit  system,  the  very  heart 
of  the  trouble  in  that  section.  For  generations  the  negroes  have 
borne  it  grievously  that  it  has  been  difficult  to  obtain  land  for 
cultivation  other  than  by  paying  exorbitant  retits  or  giving  their 
landlords  an  unusually  large  share  of  the  crops.  They  have 
been  further  handicapped  by  the  necessity  of  depending  on  such 
landlords  to  supply  them  with  food  and  clothing  at  such  ex- 
orbitant prices  that  their  portion  of  the  return  from  their  labor 
has  been  usually  exhausted  before  harvesting  the  crops.  Cheated 
thus  in  the  making  of  their  contracts  and  in  purchasing  necessi- 

i  Woodson.  A  Century  of  Xcgro  M'ujratu<u,  pp.  183-186. 


KKFECTS   OF   THE    MOVEMENT   ON    THE   SOUTH 


93 


tics,  they  have  been  but  the  prey  of  sharks  and  harpies  bent 
upon  keeping  them  in  a  state  scarcely  better  than  that  of  slavery. 
Southerners  of  foresiglit  have,  therefore,  severely  -criticizetl 
this  custom  and,  in  a  measure,  have  contributed  to  its  decline. 
The  press  am!  the  pulpit  of  the  South  are  now  urging  the  planters 
to  abolish  this  system  that  the  negroes  may  enjoy  the  fruits  of 
their  own  labor.  It  is  largely  because  of  these  urgent  apjieals 
in  behalf  of  fair  play,  during  the  economic  upheaval,  that  this 
legalized  robbery  is  losing  its  hold  in  the  South. 

Recently  welfare  work  among  negroes  has  become  a  matter 
of  much  concern  to  the  industries  of  the  South  in  view  of  the 
exceptional  efforts  made  along  this  line  in  the  North.  At  the 
very  beginning  of  the  migration  the  National  League  on  Urban 
Conditions  among  Negroes  pointed  out  that  firms  wishing  to 
retain  negro  laborers  and  to  have  them  become  efficient  must 
give  special  attention  to  welfare  work.'  A  considerable  number 
of  firms  employing  negro  laborers  in  the  North  have  used  the 
services  of  negro  welfare  workers.  Their  duties  have  been 
to  work  with  the  men,  study  and  interpret  their  wants  and  .'and 
as  a  medium  between  the  employer  and  his  negro  workmen. 
It  has,  therefore,  come  to  be  recognized  in  certain  industrial  cen- 
ters in  the  South  that  money  expended  for  this  purpose  is  a 
good  investment.  Firms  employing  negro  laborers  in  any  con- 
siderable numbers  have  found  out  that  they  must  be  dealt  with 
on  the  same  general  basis  as  white  laborers.  Among  the  in- 
dustries in  the  South  now  looking  out  for  their  negro  laborers 
in  this  respect  are  the  Newport  News  Shipbuilding  and  Dry 
Dock  Company,  the  American  Cast  Iron  Pipe  Company  of  Bir- 
mingham and  the  Tennessee  Coal,  Iron  and  Railroad  Company. 

These  efforts  take  the  form  which  usually  characterize  the 
operations  of  social  workers.  The  laborers  are  cared  for  through 
the  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  the  Y.  W.  C.  A.,  the  National  Urban  League 

>At  the  National  Conference,  "The  Problems  of  the  Employment  Man- 
ager in  Industry"  held  at  Roch^ste^,  New  York,  in  May,  1918,  considerable 
time  was  given  to  this  question.  In  discussing  psychology  in  the  employ- 
ment of  negro  workingmen  Mr.  E.  K.  Jones,  Director  of  the  Urban  League, 
pointed  out  that  negro  laborers  must  be  given  not  only  good  housing  and 
recreation  facilities  but  also  the  opportunity  for  advancement.  "Give  them." 
said  he,  "  a  chance  to  become  foremen  and  to  engage  in  all  kinds  of  skill 
and  delicate  labor.    This  will  inspire  them  and  place  new  life  in  them." 


94 


NEGRO   MIGRATTON   DURING   THE   WAR 


and  social  settlement  establishments.  The  attention  of  the  wel- 
fare workers  is  directed  to  the  improvement  of  living  conditions 
through  proper  sanitation  and  medical  attention.  They  are  sup- 
plied with  churches,  school  buildings  and  bath  houses,  enjoy 
the  advantages  of  community  singing,  dramatic  clubs  and  public 
games,  and  receive  instruction  in  gardening,  sewing  and  cook- 
ing.    Better  educational  facilities  are  generally  provided. 

On  the  whole  the  South  will  profit  by  this  migration.  Such 
an  upheaval  was  necessary  to  set  up  a  reaction  in  the  southern 
mind  to  enable  its  leaders  of  thought  to  look  beyond  them'-elves 
into  the  needs  of  the  man  far  down.  There  is  in  progress, 
therefore,  a  reshaping  of  public  opinion,  in  fact  a  peaceful  revo- 
lution in  a  land  cursed  by  slavery  and  handicapped  by  aristoc- 
racy. The  tendency  to  maltreat  the  negroes  without  cause,  the 
custom  of  arresting  them  for  petty  offenses  and  the  institution 
of  lynching  have  all  been  somewhat  checked  by  this  change 
in  the  attitude  of  the  southern  white  man  towards  the  negro. 
The  check  in  the  movement  of  the  negroes  to  other  parts  may 
to  some  extent  interfere  with  this  development  of  the  new 
pul)lic  opinion  in  the  South,  but  this  movement  has  been  so 
far  reaching  in  its  effect  as  to  compel  the  thinking  class  of  the 
South  to  construct  ant'  carry  out  a  policy  of  fair  play  to  provide 
against  that  day  when  that  section  may  find  itself  again  at  the 
mercy  of  the  laboring  class  of  the  negroes. 


■ '  I 


CHAPTER  IX 

The  Situation  in  St.  Louis 

It  will  be  both  interesting  and  profitable  to  follow  these 
migrants  into  their  new  homes  in  the  North.  Among  the  most 
interesting  of  these  communities  is  the  black  colony  in  St.  Louis. 
St.  Louis  is  one  of  the  first  cities  of  the  border  States,  a  city 
first  in  the  memory  of  the  unsettled  migrant  when  the  North 
was  mentioned.  During  a  long  period  thousands  had  gone 
there,  settled  down  for  a  while  and  moved  on,  largely  to  Illinois, 
a  sort  of  promised  land.  Conservative  estimates  place  the 
number  of  negro  migrants  who  have  remained  there  at  10,000. 
The  number  of  migrants  passing  through  this  city,  its  reception 
of  them,  th«,  .iving  conditions  provided  and  the  community  in- 
terest displayed  in  grappliiig  with  the  problem  are  facts  extremely 
necessary  to  an  understanding  of  the  readjustment  of  the 
migrants  in  the  North. 

The  composition  of  the  city's  population  is  significant.  It 
has  a  large  foreign  element.  Of  the  foreign  population  Ger- 
mans predominate,  probably  because  of  the  brewery  industry 
of  the  American  white  population.  The  southern  whites  are 
of  longest  residence  and  dominate  the  sentiment.  The  large 
industrial  growth  of  the  town,  however,  has  brought  great 
numbers  of  northern  whites.  The  result  is  a  sort  f  mixture 
of  traditions.  The  apparent  results  of  this  mixture  may  be 
observed  in  these  inconsistencies:  separate  schools,  but  common 
transportation  facilities;  separate  playgrounds,  but  common  bath 
houses:  separate  theaters  and  restaurants  with  the  color  line 
drawn  as  strictly  as  in  the  South.'  There  has  been  considerable 
migration  of  whites  to  this  city  from  Kentucky,  Tennessee,  Ala- 
bama and  Mississippi. 

1  A  segregation  law  was  pasied  by  an  overwhelming  majority.  Negroes 
secured  an  injunction  and  the  matter  rested  there  until  the  United  States 
Supreme  Court  declared  the  segregation  laws  invalid. 

95 


y« 


NEGRO    MIGRATION    DURING    THE    WAR 


As  there  are  separate  schools  in  St.  Louis,  the  statistics  of 
the  St.  Louis  system  may  serve  as  an  index  to  the  sources  and 
the  increase  of  the  negro  population.  The  school  population  was 
known  to  increase  approximately  500  between  li)ltJ  and  I'.UT.' 
The  school  registration  shows  communities  in  which  have  settled 
numbers  of  families  from  the  same  State  and  even  the  same 
town.  For  example,  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Dessalines  School 
in  the  1700  block  on  12th  Street,  North,  Mississippi  colonists 
are  in  preponderant  majority.  The  towns  represented  here  are 
located  in  the  northeastern  part  of  that  State.  In  the  vicinity 
of  the  L'Overture  School  are  distinct  colonies  from  west  Ten- 
nessee and  Alabama.  On  Lawton  Avenue,  another  popular 
street,  Mississippians  also  are  in  majority.  What  makes  migra- 
tion to  St.  Louis  from  these  States  easy  is  proba!)ly  its  convenient 
location  and  direct  railway  communication  with  them.  There 
has  been  no  influx  from  Texas  and  Florida. 

How  St.  Louis  secured  her  migrants  makes  an  interesting 
story.  The  difficulty  of  apprehending  later  agents  can  be  ap- 
preciated when  it  is  recalled  that  the  most  zealous  efforts  of 
authority  in  the  majority  of  cases  failed  to  find  more  than  a 
trace  of  where  they  had  been  operating.  It  was  asserted  by 
many  of  the  migrants  to  this  city,  however,  that  they  had 
been  approached  at  some  time  by  agents.  Large  industrial  plants 
located  in  the  satellite  city  of  St.  Louis  sent  men  to  Cairo,  a 
junction  point,  to  meet  incoming  trains  and  make  offers.  There 
developed  a  competition  for  men.  They  were  first  induced  to 
accept  jobs  in  smaller  towns,  but  lack  of  recreational  facilities 
and  amusements  and  the  monotony  of  life  attracted  them  to 
the  bright  lights  of  St.  Louis.  The  large  alien  population  of 
this  city  at  the  beginning  of  the  war  made  some  employers 
anxious  about  the  safety  of  their  plants.  The  brick  yards  had 
been  employing  foreigners  exclusively.  When  war  began  so 
many  left  that  it  was  felt  that  their  business  was  in  danger. 
They  advertised  for  3,000  negroes,  promising  them  $2.;3r>  per 
day.  The  railroad  construction  companies  sent  out  men  to 
attract  negroes  to  the  city.     They  assert,  however,  that  their 

1  St.  Louis  School  Reoorts,  1916  and  1917. 


THE   SITUATION    IN    ST.    LOLIS 


97 


agents  solicited  men  only  after  they  had  started  for  the  North.' 
The  industries  of  St.  Louis  had  much  to  do  with  the  migra- 
tion. In  this  city  there  are  more  than  twenty  breweries.  None 
of  these  employ  negroes.  St.  Louis  also  has  a  large  shoe  in- 
dustry. In  this  line  no  negroes  are  employed.  A  short  while 
ago  a  large  steel  plant  employing  foreigners  in  large  numbers 
had  a  strike.  The  strike  was  settled  but  tlie  management  took 
precautions  against  its  repetition.  For  e?ch  white  person  em- 
ployed a  negro  was  placed  on  a  corresponding  job.  This  parallel 
extended  from  unskilled  work  to  the  highest  skilled  pursuits. 
The  assumption  was  that  a  strike,  should  it  recur,  could  not 
cripple  their  industry  entirely.  About  80  per  cent  of  the  em- 
ployes of  the  brick  yards,  50  per  cent  of  the  employes  of  the 
packing  houses,  50  per  cent  of  the  employes  of  the  American 
Car  and  Foundry  Company  are  negroes.  The  terra  cotta  works, 
electrical  plants,  united  railways  and  a  number  of  other  foundries 
employ  negroes  in  large  numbers.'' 

The  range  of  vvages  for  unskilled  work  is  $2.25  to  $3.35 
per  day,  with  an  average  wage  of  about  $2.75.  For  some  skilled 
work  negroes  receive  from  35  cents  to  50  cents  an  hour.  Wages 
differ  even  between  St.  Louis  and  East  St.  Louis,  because  of 
a  difference  in  the  types  of  industries  in  the  two  cities.  Domes- 
tic service  has  been  literally  drained,  and  wages  here  have  been 
forced  upwards  to  approximate  in  some  measure  the  increase 
in  other  lines. 

The  housing  facilities  for  negroes,  though  not  the  best,  are 
superior  to  such  accommodations  in  most  southern  cities.  There 
are  about  six  communities  in  which  the  negroes  are  in  the 
majority.  Houses  here  are  as  a  rule  old,  having  been  occupied 
by  whites  before  they  were  turned  over  to  negroes.  Tefore 
the  migration  to  the  city,  property  owners  reported  that  they 
could  not  keep  their  houses  rented  half  of  the  year.  According 
to  the  statements  of  real  estate  men,  entire  blocks  stood  vacant, 
and  many  vacant  houses,  after  windows  had  been  broken  and 
plumbing  stolen,  were  wrecked  to  avoid  paying  ta  .es  on  them. 

1  Johnson.  Retort  on  the  Migration  to  St.  Louis. 

2  Ibid. 


I     I 


98 


NEGRO    MIGRATION   DURING   THE   WAR 


Up  to  the  period  of  the  riot  in  East  St.  Louis,  houses  were 
easily  available.  The  only  congestion  e.xperienced  at  all  fol- 
lowed the  overnight  increase  of  7.000  negroes  from  East  St. 
Louis,  after  the  riot.  Rents  then  jumped  25  per  cent,  but  nor- 
mal conditions  soon  prevailed.  Sanitation  is  poor,  but  the 
women  coming  from  the  South,  in  the  opinion  of  a  reputable 
physician  of  the  ciiy,  are  good  housewives.  New  blacks  have 
been  added  to  all  of  the  negro  residential  blocks.  In  the  ten- 
ement district  there  have  been  no  changes.  The  select  negro 
residential  section  is  the  abandoned  residential  district  of  the 
whites.  Few  new  houses  have  been  built.  An  increase  of 
rent  from  $.')  to  $10  per  month  is  usually  the  sequel  of  the 
turning  over  of  a  house  to  negroes. 

Community  interest  in  the  situation  was  at  first  dormant  but 
not  entirely  lacking.  The  migration  was  well  under  way  be- 
fore there  was  any  organization  to  make  an  adjustment  in 
this  unusual  situation.  Interested  individuals  made  sporadic 
efforts  to  bring  pressure  to  bear  here  and  there,  but  the  situa- 
tion was  not  really  appreciated  until  the  outbreak  in  East  St. 
Louis.  There  is  an  active  branch  of  the  National  Association 
for  the  Advancement  of  Colored  People,  and  just  recently  there 
has  been  established  a  branch  of  the  National  League  on  Urban 
Conditions  among  Negroes   to  deal   with  the   peculiarly  local 

problems.^ 

East  St.  Louis,  another  attractive  center  for  the  migrants, 
is  unique  among  northern  industrial  cities.  It  is  an  industrial 
offshoot  of  St.  Louis,  which  has  outstripped  its  parent  in  ex- 
pansion. Its  geographical  advantage  has  made  it  a  formidable 
rival  even  with  its  less  developed  civic  institutions.  Perched 
on  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi  River,  with  twenty-seven  rail- 
roads radiating  from  it,  within  easy  reach  of  the  coal  mines, 
there  has  been  made  possible  a  rapid  and  uneven  growth.  It 
has  doubled  its  population  for  three  successive  decades.  Re- 
volving around  this  overgrown  center  are  a  number  of  small 
towns :  Brooklyn.  Lovejoy,  Belleville.  Venice,  Granite  City  and 
Madison.     Its  plant  owners  live  in  St.  Louis  and  other  cities, 

1  Reports  of  the  National  Urban  League,  1916,  1917. 


THE   SITUATION    IN   ST.    LOUIS 


99 


and  consequently  have  little  civic  interest  in  East  St.  Louis. 
Land  is  cheaper,  taxes  are  low.  In  fact,  some  of  the  largest 
concerns  have  been  accused  of  evading  them  entirely.  It  has 
been  artificially  fed  and.  in  process  of  growth,  there  have  been 
irregularities  in  the  structure  of  the  community  which  eventu- 
ally culminated  in  the  greatest  disgrace  of  the  North,  the  mas- 
sacre of  about  one  hundred  negroes. 

Fifty  years  ago  before  the  river  dividing  St.  Louis  from 
East  St.  Louis  was  bridged,  m' '  rowed  over  from  St.  Louis 
for  their  cock  fights,  dog  fights  .nd  prize  fights.  Escaped 
prisoners  found  a  haven  there.  The  town  was  called  "The 
Bloody  Isle."  The  older  population  is  made  up  of  whites  from 
West  Tennessee,  Mississippi.  Kentucky  and  Georgia.  The  men 
who  have  risen  to  political  prominence  in  the  city  are  for  the 
most  part  saloon  keepers.  As  many  as  100  saloons  flourished 
in  the  town  before  the  riot.  The  city  government  has  always 
been  bad.  The  attitude  of  the  citizenry  appeared  to  be  that 
of  passive  acceptance  of  conditions  which  must  not  be  interfered 
with.  As  an  example  of  the  state  of  mind,  much  surprise  was 
manifested  when  an  investigation  of  the  rioting  was  begun. 
Criminals  have  been  known  to  buy  immunity.  The  mayor  was 
assassinated  some  time  ago  and  little  or  no  effort  was  made  to 
punish  his  murderers. 

Long  before  an  influx  was  felt,  it  had  been  foreseen  and 
mentioned  by  several  men,  most  notably,  Mr.  Charles  Nagel, 
Secretary  of  Commerce  and  Labor  under  President  Taft.  The 
East  St.  Louis  plants  had  been  going  to  Ellis  Island  for  laborers. 
When  this  supply  was  checked,  steps  were  taken  to  secure 
negroes.  Agents  were  sent  to  Cairo  to  get  men  en  route  further 
North.  One  advertisement  which  appeared  in  a  Texas  paper 
promised  negroes  $3.0,5  a  day  and  houses.  It  is  estimated  that 
as  a  result  of  this  beckoning  the  increase  in  population  due  to 
the  migration  was  5,000.  A  number  of  other  negro  migrants, 
however,  work  in  East  St.  Louis  and  live  in  St.  Louis,  Lovejoy 
and  Brooklyn,  a  negro  town.  The  school  registration  of  the 
city  showed  that  the  largest  numbers  of  these  blacks  came  from 
Mississippi  and  West  Tennessee.    Despite  the  advertisement  for 


100 


NtGRO    MIGRATION    UL'RING   THE   WAR 


men  in  Texas  newspapers,   few  came  to  this  city   from  that 
State.' 

The  industries  requiring  the  labor  of  these  negroes  were 
numerous.  The  packing  plants  of  Swift,  Armour,  Nelson  and 
Morris  employ  large  numbers  of  negroes.  In  some  of  the  un- 
skilled departments  fifty  per  cent  of  the  employes  are  black. 
The  Aluminum  Ore  Works  employs  about  GOO  blacks  and  1,000 
whites.  This  is  the  plant  in  which  occurred  the  strike  which 
in  a  measure  precipitated  the  riot.  The  Missouri  Malleable 
Iron  Works  makes  it  a  policy  to  keep  three  classes  of  men  at 
work  and  as  nearly  equal  numerically  as  possible.  The  usual 
division  is  one-third  foreign  whites,  one-third  American  whites 
and  one-third  blacks.  The  theory  is  that  these  three  elements 
will  not  unite  to  strike.  Negroes  are  also  employed  in  the 
glass  works,  cotton  presses  and  transfer  yards.  Their  wages 
for  unskilled  work  ranges  from  $2.75  to  $3.75  generally  for 
eight  hours  a  day.  Semiskilled  work  pays  from  35  cents  to 
50  cents  an  hour. 

The  housing  of  the  negro  migrants  was  one  of  the  most 
perple.xing  problems  in  East  St.  Louis.  The  type  of  houses 
available  for  negroes,  before  being  burned  during  the  riot,  were 
small  dilapidated  cottages.  Congestion,  of  course,  was  a  prob- 
lem which  accompanied  the  influx  of  negroes.  The  incoming 
population,  consisting  largely  of  lodgers,  was  a  misfit  in  t'.ie 
small  cottages  designed  for  families,  and  they  were  generally 
neglected  by  the  tenant  and  by  the  local  authorities.  The  seg- 
regated vice  district  was  located  in  the  negro  locality.  The 
crowding  which  followed  the  influx  forced  some  few  negroes 
into  the  white  localities.  Against  this  invasion  there  was  strong 
opposition  which  culminated  in  trouble.^ 

The  roots  of  the  fateful  horror  that  made  T.ast  St.  Louis 
notorious,  however,  are  to  be  found  largely  in  a  no  less  notorious 
civic  structure.  Politics  of  a  shady  nature  was  the  handmaiden 
of  the  local  administration.  The  human  fabric  of  the  town 
was  made  up  of  sad  types  of  rough,  questionable  characters, 

1  Johnson,  Retort  on  the  Migration  to  St.  Louis. 

-  See  Congressional  Refoit  un  the  Massacre  of  East  St.  Louis. 


THE   SITCATION    IN    ST.    LOUIS 


101 


drawn  to  the  town  by  its  industries  and  the  money  that  flowed 
from  them.  There  was  a  large  criminal  element.  These  lived 
in  a  little  corner  of  the  town,  where  was  located  also  the  segre- 
gated vice  district.  Negroes  were  interested  in  politics.  In  fact, 
they  were  a  considerable  factor  and  succeeded  in  placing  in 
office  several  black  men  of  their  choice. 

Trouble  started  at  the  Aluminum  Ore  Works  which  employed 
a  large  number  of  whites  and  blacks.    In  February  of  1917  the 
men  struck  while  working  on  government  contracts.     Immedi- 
ately, it  is  claimed,  negroes  were  sought  for  in  other  States 
to  take  their  places.     An  adjustment  was  made,  but  it  lasted 
only  a  short  while.     Then  followed  a  second  strike  at  which 
the  employers  balked.     In  this  they  felt  reasonably  secure  for 
negroes  were  then  pouring  into  the  city  from  the  South  during 
the   spring  exodus.     There   followed   numerous   evidences   of 
brooding  conflict  such  as  insults  on  the  street  cars,  comments 
and  excitement  over  the  daily  arrival  of  large  numbers  from 
the  South.    On  one  day  three  hundred  are  said  to  have  arrived. 
Standing  on  the  streets,  waiting  for 'cars,  lost  in  wandering 
about  the  streets  searching  for  homes,  the  negroes  presented  a 
helpless  group.     The  search  for  homes  carried  them  into  the 
most  undesirable  sections.     Here  the  scraggy  edges  of  society 
met.     The  traditional  attitude  of  unionists  toward  negroes  be- 
gan to  assert  itself.    Fear  that  such  large  numbers  would  weaken 
present  and  subsequent  demands  aroused  considerable  opposition 
to  their  presence.     Meetings  were  held,  exciting  speeches  were 
made  and  street  fights  became  common.     The  East  St.  Louis 
Journal  is  said  to  have  printed  a  series  of  articles  under  the 
caption,  "  Make  East  St.  Louis  a  Lily  White  Town."     It  was 
a  simple  matter  of  touching  oflE  the  smoldering  tinder.    In  the 
riot  that  followed  over  a  hundred  negroes  were  killed.    These, 
for  the  most  part  lived  away  from  the  places  of  the  most  vio- 
lent disturbances,  and  were  returning  home,  unconscious  of  the 
fate  that  awaited  them.     The  riot  has  recently  been  subject  to 
a  congressional  investigation,  but  few  convictions  resulted  and 
those  whites  convicted  escaped  serious  punishment.^ 
1  See  Congressional  Report  on  the  Massacre  of  East  St.  Louis. 


h 


CHAPTER  X 
Chicago  and  Its  Environs 

Chicago,  the  metropolis  of  the  West,  rememberecl  in  the 
South  since  the  World's  Fair  as  a  far-away  city  of  hope  from 
which  come  all  great  things;  unceasingly  advertised  through  its 
tremendous  mail  order  and  clothing  houses,  schools  and  in- 
dustries until  it  became  a  synonym  for  the  "  North,"  was  the 
mouth  of  the  stream  of  negroes  from  the  South.  It  attracted 
all  types  of  men,  brought  them  in,  encouraged  them  and  cared 
for  them  because  it  needed  them.  It  is  estimated  that  within 
the  period  of  eighteen  months  beginning  January,  191C,  more 
than  fifty  thousand  negroes  entered  the  city.  This  estimate 
was  based  on  averages  taken  from  actual  count  of  daily  arrivals. 

There  were  at  work  in  this  city  a  number  of  agencies  which 
served  to  stimulate  the  movement.  The  stock  yards  were  sorely 
in  need  of  men.  It  was  reported  that  they  had  emissaries  in 
the  South.  Whether  it  is  true  or  not,  it  is  a  fact  that  it  was 
most  widely  advertised  throughout  the  States  of  Mississippi 
and  Louisiana  that  employment  could  easily  be  secured  in  the 
Chicago  stock  yards  district.  The  report  was  circulated  that 
fifty  thousand  men  were  needed,  and  the  packers  were  pro- 
viding houses  for  migrants  and  caring  for  them  until  they 
had  established  themselves.  The  Illinois  Central  Railroad 
brought  hundreds  on  free  transportation  with  the  understand- 
ing that  the  men  would  enter  the  employ  of  the  company.  The 
radical  negro  newspapers  published  here  urged  negroes  to  leave 
the  South  and  promised  employment  and  protection.  It  is  in- 
deed little  wonder  that  Chicago  received  so  great  a  number. 

The  most  favoral'e  aspect  of  their  condition  in  their  new 
home  is  their  opportunity  to  earn  money.  Coming  from  the 
South,  where  they  were  accustomed  to  work  for  a  few  cents 
a  day  or  a  few  dollars  a  week,  to  an  industrial  -renter  where  they 

102 


CHICAGO    AND    ITS    ENVIRONS 


103 


can  now  earn  as  much  in  an  hour  or  a  day,  they  have  the  feel- 
ing that  this  city  is  really  the  land  overflowing  with  milk  and 
honey.  In  the  occupations  in  which  they  are  now  employed, 
many  of  them  are  engaged  at  skilled  labor,  receiving  the  same 
and,  in  some  cases,  greater  compensation  than  was  paid  white 
men  in  such  positions  prior  to  the  outbreak  of  the  war.  Talk- 
ing with  a  number  of  them  the  investigator  obtained  such  in- 
formation as,  that  men  were  working  at  the  Wilson  Packing 
House  and  receiving  $3  a  day;  at  the  Marks  Manufacturing 
Company  for  $3.75;  as  lumber  stackers  at  $4  a  day,  at  one 
of  the  rolling  mills  for  $25  a  week,  and  on  the  railroads  at 
$125  a  month.  The  large  majority  of  these  migrants  are 
engaged  in  the  packing  houses  of  Chicago  where  they  are  em- 
ployed to  do  all  sorts  of  skilled  and  unskilled  labor  with  the 
corresponding  compensation.* 

It  was  soon  discovered  that  the  needs  of  the  migrants  could 

not  all  be  supplied  by  money.     Something  had  to  be  done  for 

their  social  welfare.     Various  agencies  assisted  in  caring  for 

the  needs  of  the  25,000  or  more  negro  migrants  who,  it  is 

estimated,  have  come  to  Chicago  within  three  years.    The  Chicago 

Renting  Agents'  Association  appointed  a  special  committee  to 

study  the  problems  of  housing  them  and  to  confer  with  leaders 

in  civic  organization  and  with   representative  negroes.     The 

Cook  County  Association  considered  the  question  of  appointing 

some  one  to  do  Sunday  School  work  exclusively  amonp  the 

newcomers.    The  Housing  Committee  of  the  Chicago  Women's 

Club  arranged  for  an  intensive  survey  of  housing  conditions. 

The  negroes  themselves  organized  to  help  the  recently  arrived 

members  of  the  race.    Negro  ministers,  lawyers,  physicians  and 

social   workers  cooperated   in   handling   the  problem   through 

churches,  Sunday  Schools  and  in  other  ways.' 

The  negroes  residing  in  Chicago,  who  came  from  particular 
States  in  the  South  organized  clubs  to  look  after  the  migrants 
from  their  own  States.  The  result  was  that  an  Alabama  Club, 
a  Georgia  Club,  Mississippi  Club,  Tennessee  Club  and  so  on 


>  Johnson,  Report  on  the  Migration  to  Chicago. 
'Ibid. 


104 


NEGRO    MIURATION    ULRING    THK    WAR 


were  formed.  Committees  from  these  clubs  met  the  train  and 
helped  the  newcomers  to  find  homes  and  work.  The  chief 
agency  in  handling  the  migrant  situation  in  Chicago  was  the 
local  branch  of  the  National  League  on  Urban  Conditions 
among  Negroes.  The  work  which  the  league  did  for  the  mi- 
grants as  set  forth  in  the  report  of  IttlT  was  of  three  kinds: 
employment.  h(«using  and  adjustment  or  assimilation.  The  pol- 
icy of  the  Urban  League  with  reganl  to  employment  was  to 
find  and.  where  possible,  to  open  new  occupations  hitherto  de- 
nied negroes.  The  housing  problem  was  urgent.  The  most  that 
the  league  was  able  to  do  thus  far  was  to  find  lodging,  to 
assist  in  finding  houses.  Lodging  accommodations  for  more 
than  400  individuals  were  personally  inspected  by  several  women 
volunteers.  It  is  impossible  to  do  much  else  short  of  the  con- 
struction of  apartments  for  families  and  for  single  men. 

The  league's  first  efforts  to  assimilate  the  new  people  started 
with  their  entrance  to  the  city.  To  see  that  they  received  proper 
directions  upon  reaching  the  railroad  station  was  an  important 
task.  It  was  able  to  secure  the  services  of  a  volunteer  travelers' 
aid  society.  This  agent  met  trains  and  directed  migrants  to 
destinations  when  they  had  addresses  of  relatives  and  friends. 
In  the  absence  of  such  they  were  sent  to  proper  homes  for  lodg- 
ing, and  to  the  league  office  for  employment. 

The  great  majority  of  negroes  in  Chicago  live  in  a  limited 
area  known  as  the  South  Side.  State  Street  is  the  thorough- 
fare. It  is  the  black  belt  of  the  city.  This  segregation  is  aided 
on  one  hand  by  the  difficulty  of  securing  houses  in  other  sec- 
tions of  the  city,  and  on  the  other,  by  th  desire  of  negroes  to 
live  where  they  have  greatest  political  strength.  Previous  to 
the  migration,  hundreds  of  houses  stood  vacant  in  the  sections 
of  the  district  west  of  State  Street  from  which  they  had  moved 
only  a  few  years  before,  when  it  was  found  that  better  homes 
were  available.  The  presence  of  negroes  in  an  exclusively  white 
locality  usually  brought  forth  loud  protests  and  frequently  ended 
in  the  abandonment  of  the  block  by  whites.  The  old  district 
lying  west  of  State  Street  held  the  worst  type  of  houses.  It 
was  also  in  disrepute  because  of  its  proximity  to  the  old  segre- 


CHICAGO   AND   ITS   ENVIRONS 


105 


gated  vice  area.  The  newcomers,  unacquainted  with  its  rt'ini- 
tation,  found  no  hesitancy  in  moving  in  until  better  homes  could 
be  secured. 

Congestion  has  been  a  serious  problem  only  during  short 
periods  when  the  influx  was  greater  than  the  city's  immediate 
capacity  for  distributing  them.  During  the  summer  of  1917 
this  was  the  situation.  A  canvass  of  real  estate  dealers  sup- 
l)lying  houses  for  negroes  conducted  by  the  Chicago  Urban 
League  revealed  the  fact  that  on  a  single  day  there  were  fi(>4 
negro  applicants  for  houses,  and  only  r>()  supplied,  while  there 
were  !>7  houses  advertised  for  rent.  In  some  instances  as  many 
as  ten  persons  were  listed  for  a  single  house.  This  condition 
did  not  continue  long.  There  were  counted  thirty-si.\  new 
localities  opening  up  to  negroes  within  three  months.  These 
localities  were  formerly  white. 

An  accompaniment  to  this  congestion  was  the  increase  in 
rents  of  from  5  to  30  per  cent  and  sometimes  as  high  as  50 
per  cent.  This  was  explained  by  landlords  as  a  return  to  former 
standards  after  the  property  had  depreciated  through  the  coming 
in  of  negroes.  A  more  detailed  study  of  living  conditions 
among  the  migrants  in  Chicago  was  made  by  a  student  of  the 
School  of  Civics  and  Philanthropy.  The  study  included  75 
families  of  less  than  a  year's  residence.  In  the  group  were  GO 
married  couples,  128  children,  eight  women  and  nine  married 
men  with  families  in  the  South. 

How  this  large  group— 205  persons — fresh  from  a  region 
where  life  is  enlivened  by  a  mild  climate  and  ample  space  was 
to  find  living  quarters  in  an  overcrowded  section  of  two  Chicago 
blocks  was  a  problem  of  many  aspects.  A  single  furnished  room, 
rented  by  the  week,  provided  the  solution  for  each  of  41  fami- 
lies, while  24  families  rented  hemes  by  the  month,  four  families 
occupied  two  rooms  each.  In  some  instances,  this  meant  over- 
crowding so  serious  as  to  threaten  morals  and  health.  The 
Urban  League  interested  corporations  and  capitalists  in  the 
construction  of  modern  apartment  houses  with  small  individual 
apartments.  It  endeavored  also  to  have  the  city  see  the  neces- 
sity of  preventing  occupancy  of  the  physically   unfit   houses. 


as 

3U 


\ 


106 


NEGRO    MIGRATION    Dl'RING   THK   WAR 


The  league  comlucted  a  campaign  to  educate  the  masse*  in  re- 
gard to  housing,  and  payment  of  exorl)itant  rents  was  discour- 
aged. The  various  city  departments  were  asked  ti>  enforce 
..rdinanccs  in  negro  neighborhoods.  In  this  way  the  league 
tried  to  reihice  overcrowding  and  extortionate  rentals. 

All  of  the  arrivals  here  did  not  stay.  They  were  only  tem- 
porary guests  awaiting  the  opportunity  to  proceed  further  and 
settle  in  surrounditig  cities  and  towns.  This  tendency  appears 
to  have  l)een  to  reach  those  fields  offering  the  highest  wages 
and  most  permanent  prospects.  With  Chicago  as  a  center  there 
are  within  a  radius  of  from  one  hundred  to  one  hundret'  and 
fifty  miles  a  number  of  smaller  industrial  centers— suburbs  of 
Chicago  in  which  enterprises  have  sprung  up  l)ecause  of  the 
nearness  to  the  unexcelled  shipping  and  other  facilities  which 
Chicago  furnished.  A  great  many  of  the  migrants  who  came 
to  Chicago  found  employment  in  these  satellite  places.' 

One  of  these  towns  was  Rockford,  a  city  of  alxmt  S.'i.OOO 
people  before  Camp  Grant  began  to  add  to  its  population.  It 
is  estimated  that  there  were  about  l.nOO  negroes  in  Rockford. 
1.000  of  whom  came  in  during  1010  and  1017.  The  Rockford 
Malleable  Iron  Company,  which  never  hired  more  than  five 
or  six  negroes  until  two  years  ago.  has  nearly  one  hundred 
in  its  employ.  A  timekeeper,  five  inspectors,  a  machinist,  a 
porter,  three  foremen  and  twenty  of  the  molders  are  negroes. 
The  Free  Sewing  Machine  Company.  Emerson  and  Birmingham, 
the  Trahern  Pump  Company  and  the  two  knitting  factories 
began  also  to  employ  negroes.  The  standard  wage  prevailed, 
and,  while  the  unskilled  work  was  largely  given  to  the  negroes, 
there  were  instances  when  opportunity  was  given  for  them  to 
follow  pursuits  requiring  skill. 

Housing  showed  every  evidence  of  congestion.  The  city  was 
unprepared  for  the  unprecedented  increase  in  population  neces- 
sitated by  the  demands  of  its  factories  for  men  to  produce  muni- 
tions of  war.  The  workingmen.  however,  were  soon  l)etter  pro- 
vided for  than  in  some  other  cities.     The  Rockford  Malleable 

1  The  Detroit  branch  of  the  Urban  League  reported,  for  example,  that  a 
great  percentage  of  its  applicants  for  work  were  from  Chicago. 


CHICAGO   AND    ITS   ENVIRONS 


107 


Iron  Company  conducted  two  houses  for  the  accommodation  of 
its  emph)yes  and  rented  several  smaller  ones.'  This  company 
had  recently  purchased  a  large  acreage  and  was  considering  the 
advisability  of  building  houses  for  its  employes,  including  the 
negro  migrants.  The  Emerson  and  Birmingham  Company  and 
the  Sewing  Machine  Company  had  similar  plans  under  advise- 
ment. 

The  Rock  ford  Malleable  Iron  Company  was  the  first  to  use 
negroes.  In  the  fall  of  I'.UO  the  first  negro  employes  were 
brought  in  from  Canton,  Illinois,  through  a  Mr.  Robinson  then 
employed  by  the  company  as  a  molder.  There  were  nine 
molders  in  the  group.  At  brief  intervals  Tuskegee  sent  up  four, 
then  five,  then  eight  and  then  six  men,  most  of  whom  had  had 
training  in  machinery  and  molding.  The  total  number  ot  Tus- 
kegee boys  was  32.  Robinson  also  brought  men  from  Metrop- 
olis, Illinois,  and  from  Kankakee.  He  made  a  trip  through 
Alabama  and  brought  up  l.*)  or  10.  Most  of  these  were  laborers. 
Seven  laborers  came  as  a  result  of  correspondence  with  a 
physician  from  Des  Moines.  Iowa.  From  Chris*'-  shurg,  Vir- 
ginia, the  only  negro  blacksmith  came.  The  Ui  m  League 
also  sent  up  some  men  from  Chicago.  The  company  was  so 
pleased  with  the  men's  service  that  they  called  upon  the  Urban 
League  for  more  men  and  placed  in  its  hands  a  fund  for  their 
railroad  expenses.' 

Negroes  were  promoted  from  time  to  time  and  were  used 
in  every  department  of  the  shop.  One  of  the  men  was  an  in- 
spector. Two  new  machines  turning  out  work  faster  than 
any  other  machine  were  turned  over  to  the  negroes.  All  of 
them  were  given  steady  work  without  being  forced  to  lay  off. 
and  their  wages  were  increased.  Street  car  companies  and  offi- 
cials in  Rock  ford  have  congratulated  the  men  upon  their  con- 
duct. Two  of  the  men  who  came  up  from  the  South  were 
purchasing  property. 

When  the  increase  in  negro  population  became  noticeable,  a 

*  The  two  large  houses  accommodated  fifty  to  sixty  men.  One  of  these 
was  known  as  the  Tuskegee  Club  House  and  housed  only  men  from 
Tuskegee  Institute. 

'Johnson,  Retort  on  the  Migration  to  Chicago. 


108 


NliORO    MIGRATION    ULRIXG    THE    WAR 


good  deal  erf  discrimination  appeared  in  public  places.  The 
mayor  of  the  city,  therefore,  called  a  conference  of  the  Chamber 
of  Commerce,  of  representatives  from  Camp  (irant.  hotels,  skat- 
ing rinks  ami  other  public  places  and  read  the  civil  rights  law 
tj  them.  He  gave  them  to  understand  that  Rockford  would 
not  stand  for  Jiscrimination  between  races.  When  some  of 
tlie  conferees  thought  they  would  like  t(j  have  separate  tables 
in  the  restaurants  the  mayor  opposed  them  and  insisted  that  there 
should  be  no  such  treatment.  One  restaurant,  which  displayed 
a  sign,  "  We  do  not  cater  to  colored  trade."  was  given  orders 
Sy  the' Chief  of  Tolice  to  take  it  down  in  fifteen  minutes,  when 
his  deputy  would  arrive  with  instructions  to  carry  out  the  law 
in  case  tlie  sign  was  not  removed. 

\v'aukegan,  a  town  thirty  miles  northwest  of  Chicago,  with 
a  total  population  of  about  22,0()<)  has  approximately  400  negroe.. 
where  two  years  ago  there  were  about  27.").     The  Wilder  Tan- 
ning Company  and  the  .\mcrican  Steel  and  Wire  Company  em- 
ployed the  largest  numl)cr  of  these  negroes.    These  firms  worked 
alx>ut  CO  and  SO  respectively.     Smaller  numbers  were  employed 
by  the  Gas  Company,  the  Calk  Mill,  the  Cyclone  Fence  Com- 
pany, the  Northwestern  Railroad  freight  house  and  a  bed  spring 
factory  and  several  were  working  at  the  Great  Lakes  Xaval 
Training   Station.     A    few    found   employment   as   porters    in 
barljer  shops  and  theaters.    At  the  Wilder  Tanning  Company  and 
the  American  Steel  and  Wire  Company,  opportunity  was  given 
negroes   to    do   sem^killed   work.      The    former   was    working 
negroes  into  every  branch  of  its  industry.     The  average  daily 
wage  here  was  about  $:>.' 

I  In  May  1917,  the  Sherm.in  House  on  Genesee  Street  in  the  iie.irt  of  tlic 
citv  becaine  a  iieuro  liotel.  It  lias  19  l.e.lroonis  aiul  aeconimo.lates  33  men. 
It  "was  ponrly  managvd  and  dirty.  .\  barber  shop,  pool  room  and  dnmig 
room  were  run  in  oonnection  with  it  and  were  also  poorly  managed  The 
manaK-er  of  tlic  ho'cl  is  one  of  the  newcomers.  A  rooming  house  and  dance 
hall  for  iieKi-oes  is  opcr.ated  in  another  section  of  the  city.  he  U  ilder 
Tanning  Conipanv  v.as  Iniilding  a  hotel  for  50  sinRle  meii  and  individual 
housts  of  five,  six,  seven  and  eight  rooms  for  families.  Houses  for  white 
workmen    were    to   be    built    by    the    company    after  .'l'"^/;"^   «•?,"?[;  ^**^;^f 

lawrence  Wilder,  president  of  the  conipanv,  stated  that  the  building  of 
these   liouscs    was    no    ■■experiment."     "They    are   being   pi.t    up    to    s.ay^ 

Hot  and  cold  water,  hot  air,  heat,  eleetnc  lights,  ami  ^'"'^^•^'.J'^'''^^^^"''  ''^ 

in  the  hotel      Single  roon  s  will  rent  for  $1.25.  double  rooms  $2.50  per  week. 

No  women  will  be  permitted  to  live  in  the  hotel.     A  social  room  will  be 


C::!C\GO   AND   ITS   ENVIRONS 


109 


The  secretary  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  believed  that 
the  inriux  did  not  cause  anything  more  than  a  ripple  on  the 
surface.  He  said :  "  I  cover  everything  when  I  say  that,  no 
apparent  increase  in  crime;  no  trouble  among  themselves;  no 
race  friction."  Theaters  began  to  discriminate,  but  soon  ceased. 
The  proprietor  of  the  Sheridan  Club  stated  that  he  took  a  group 
of  men  to  one  theater  which  had  shown  signs  of  discrimination. 
Each  man  was  told  to  purchase  his  own  ticket.  The  owner 
observing  the  s-heme  admitted  them.  Very  few  restaurants 
refuse  to  serve  negroes.  Only  one  openly  segregated  them  to  a 
particular  part  of  the  dining-room.  Absolutely  no  trouble  was 
experienced  in  the  schools.  The  police  commissioner  sees  that 
the  negroes  have  the  protection  of  the  law. 

East  Chicago,  an  industrial  center  located  about  twenty-five 
miles  from  Chicago  with  a  population  now  made  up  in  large 
part  of  Hungarians,  Poles,  Italians  and  negroes,  had  only  one 
negro  family  in  1915.  During  the  month  of  August,  1916,  about 
1.50  negroes  came  and  others  soon  followed.  At  present  there 
are  about  75  families,  35  or  40  children  of  school  age  and  about 
450  men  working  in  the  industrial  plants.  The  majority  of 
these  newcomers  were  from  the  rural  districts  of  Alabama  and 
Georgia,  with  a  few  from  Mississippi.  A  large  number  of 
negroes,  moreover,  live  in  Indiana  Harbor  and  in  Chicago  and 
work  in  East  Chic  go.' 

Some  of  the  people  went  to  Indiana  Harbor  for  church  serv- 

within  easy  access  of  all  occupants.  No  meals  will  be  served  at  the  hotel, 
but  will  be  served  at  the  plant.  The  houses  will  be  one  and  two  stories 
and  can  be  purchased  on  a  monthly  basis.  A  street  car  line  will  connect 
the  nlant  and  the  subdivision.  .    ,      ^  „    ,.,■„   r- 

Before  the  inHax  the  Cyclone  Fence  Company  and  the  Calk  Mill  Com- 
piny  were  said  to  have  sworn  never  to  employ  negro  labor.  Tile  Wilder 
fanning  Company  and  the  Ame'-icaii  Steel  and  Wire  Company  have  standing 
invitations  for  negro  men  with  references.— Johnson,  Retort  on  the  Migration 
to  Chicago. 

1  They  were  employed  by  the  GasscIIi  Chemical  Company,  Goldsmiths 
Detinning  Companv,  the  International  Lead  Refining  Company,  the  United 
States  Reduction  Company,  tlic  United  States  Refining  Company,  Hobson 
and  Walker's  Hrick  Yard,  the  Inland  Steel  Foundry,  Interstate  .Mill,  the 
Cudahv  Soap  Factory  and  the  Republic  Rolling  Mill.  The  Hob'^oii  and 
Walker's  Brick  Yard  employed  200  and  provided  houses  within  the  yards 
for  the  families  of  the  workmen.  The  International  Lead  Refining  Company 
provided  lodging  for  its  men  in  remodeled  box  cars.  Wages  for  ordinary 
labor  ranged  from  $2.50  to  $4.50  per  day.    This  did  not  include  the  amount 


110 


NEGRO    MIGRATION    DURING   THE   WAR 


ices.  During  the  summer  of  11)17,  an  attempt  was  made  to 
organize  a  church,  but  it  was  unsuccessful  and  almost  excited 
a  racial  conflict.  The  negroes  from  Alabama  and  Georgia  com- 
plained about  the  wickedness  of  East  Chicago,  and  declared  their 
intentions  of  going  home,  "  where  they  can  sing  without  ap- 
pearing strange,  and  where  they  can  hear  somebody  else  pray 
besides  themselves."  Few  racial  clashes,  however,  have  fol- 
lowed. A  strike  which  occurred  at  Gasselli's  Chemical  Company 
was  at  first  thought  to  be  a  protest  of  the  foreigners  against 
the  SO  negroes  employed  there.  Nothing  serious  developed 
from  it.  The  only  apparent  dangers  were  in  thoughtlessness 
on  the  part  of  negroes  in  their  conduct.  They  were  too  badly 
needed  in  industry  to  be  harshly  treated  either  by  the  foreigners 
or  their  employers.* 

In  Beloit,  Wisconsin,  as  in  other  cities,  it  was  impossible  to 
find  out  with  any  decree  of  accuracy  tlie  approximate  numb ■■ 
of  negroes.  Estimates  of  the  number  ranged  from  700  to  2,000, 
whereas,  before  the  influx,  the  black  population  was  as  low  as 
l'OO.  The  total  population  of  Beloit  is  about  20,000.  There 
are  now  two  negro  churches,  a  Baptist  and  an  African  Metho- 
dist Episcopal.  The  Baptist  church  was  said  to  be  made  up 
entirely  of  new  people.     Beloit  did  not  have  a  negro  Baptist 


that  might  be  made  hy  overtitre  work.  The  brick  yard  employed  negroes 
for  unskilled  work  at  35  cents  an  hour.  A  few  skilled  negroes  employed 
were  receiving  from  $4.75  to  $7  a  day. 

Negroes  are  fairlv  well  scattered  throughout  the  foreign  residential  sec- 
tion. A  small  area  known  as  "  Oklahoma "  or  "  Calumet "  had  perhaps 
the  largest  number.  The  houses  were  overcrowded,  dark,  insanitary,  without 
privacy  and  generally  unattractive.  All  of  the  rooms  were  sleepmc  rooms, 
usually  with  two  beds  in  a  room  accommodating  six  men.  Kent  was  high, 
and  ranged  from  $15  to  $25  a  month  for  four  and  five  room  Mats  in  very 
unattractive  buildings.  Single  lodgers  paid  from  $1.50  to  $1.75  a  w-^^J'" 
Restaurant  rates  were  exorbitant  and  food  was  so  high  that  many  of  the 
families  bought  their  provisions  in  Chicago. 

There  were  no  churches  or  in  fact  any  wholesome  social  institutions  in 
town.  There  were  many  flourishing  saloons.  There  was  one  colored  pool 
room,  and  one  colored  restaurant.  On  occasions,  a  hall  belonging  to  the 
whites  was  used  for  dances  and  socials.— Johnson,  Report  on  the  Migration 
to  Chicago. 

1  I-"ol'owing  each  pay  day  from  twenty  to  thirty  negroes  left  for  their 
homes  in  the  South.  Some  returne'l  when  their  funds  were  about  exhausted 
and  worked  five  or  six  months  more.  Others  remained  at  home  for  the 
winter  "  It  was  expected  that  the  brick  vard  would  lose  a  very  large  num- 
ber on  the  8th  of  Xovcmber.  On  the  15th  of  Dccembtr  another  large  con- 
tingent leaves  for  the  Soth."— Johnson,  Report  on  the  Migration  to  Chicago. 


CHICAGO   AND   ITS   ENVIRONS 


111 


preacher  until  the  migration,  and  had  no  negro  physicians. 
Prior  to  the  influx  there  was  little  discrimination,  except  in 
some  of  the  restaurants  and  occasionally  in  the  theaters.  One 
negro  was  working  at  the  post  oflfice,  and  another  at  the  railroad 
station.  Aside  from  these,  the  negro  men  were  practically  all 
laborers  and  porters. 

As  is  true  in  most  small  cities,  one  company  took  the  initiative 
in  sending  for  men  from  the  South.  The  Fairbanks  Morse  Com- 
pany was  the  pioneer  corporation  in  this  respect  in  Beloit.  This 
company  hires  at  present  200  men.  Most  of  these  came  from 
Mississippi.  In  fact.  Albany  and  Pontotoc,  small  towns  in 
Mississippi,  are  said  to  have  dumped  their  entire  population  in 
Beloit.  A  few  from  Memphis.  Tennessee,  were  employed  there 
but  the  company  preferred  Mississippians.  and  had  agents  at 
work  in  that  State  getting  men  for  its  plant.  It  was  said  to 
be  fair  in  its  treatment  of  ne;  "oes  and  to  pay  the  standard 

wages.* 

Milwaukee  was  one  of  the  ready  recipients  of  negro  migrants 
from  other  points  in  the  North.  Following  the  outbreak  of  the 
war.  the  consequent  cessation  of  foreign  immigration  and  the 
wiu'.drawal  of  a  number  of  aliens  from  the  labor  market  to 
follow  their  national  colors,  a  large  demand  for  negro  labor 
was  for  the  first  time  created.  Milwaukee  apparently  could  not 
attract  voluntary  migration,  and  the  larger  plants  were  forced 
to  import  some  1.200  southern  negroes  to  man  their  industries. 
In  1910,  the  city  had  a  negro  population  of  980.  There  are 
now   in  Milwaukee  about  2,700  negroes  of  whom  1,500  are 


1  There  was  great  congestion  in  housing,  as  the  negroes  were  restricted 
to  certain  sections  with  homes  usually  kept  in  insanitary  condition.  A 
very  llrge  housing  plan  of  the  company  met  with  objection  on  the  par 
of^he  white  citizrns  who  sent  in  .i  petition  to  the  City  Council  against 
building  houses  for  negroes.  The  City  Council  said  they  wanted  the  housing 
orooertv  for  park  purposes.  The  matter  was  taken  to  court.  The  Council 
rondemred  the  property  but  failed  to  sustain  the  belief  that  it  was  needed 
fo  a  park.  Through  \arious  methods  of  red  tape  and  legal  procedure 
the  matter  was  delayed.  The  company  then  built  houses  on  a  smaller  scale. 
The  tdans  ^ncltided  two  apartment  houses  that  would  accommodate  six 
fainiles  each  There  were  also  in  the  course  of  erection  houses  for  men 
wi  families  to  take  the  place  of  some  improvised  huts  which  llie  company 
had  found  necessary  to  use  to  facilitate  the  work  of  the  men.-Johnson, 
Report  on  the  Migration  to  Chicago. 


112 


NEGRO    MIGRATION    DIRING   THE    WAR 


newcomers,  not  only  from  the  South,  but  from  the  adjacent 
States  of  Illinois,  Iowa,  Michigan  and  Minnesota.' 

This  migration  to  Milwaukee  caused  a  number  of  difficulties. 
The  first  difficulty  to  arise  was  in  the  relationship  of  the  migrant 
to  the  old  residents  of  the  city.  Like  the  newly  arrived  for- 
eigners they  lived  rather  "  close  lives,"  had  little  contact  with 
the  people  of  the  community  and  as  a  consequence  were  slow 
in  changing  their  southern  standards.  This  lack  of  contact 
was  registered  in  the  slight  attendance  in  the  colored  churches, 
which  are  by  far  the  most  common  medium  of  personal  contact 
among  negroes.  The  leading  pastors  and  two  others  who  have 
made  unsuccessful  attempts  to  establish  churches  complained 
that  the  newcomers,  although  accustomed  to  going  to  church 
in  their  old  homes,  "  strayed  from  the  fold  "  in  the  large  city. 
There  was  also  a  certain  unmistakable  reticence  on  the  part 
of  the  newcomers  with  respect  to  the  negroes  of  longer  resi- 
dence. The  new  arrivals  were  at  times  suspicious  of  the  motives 
of  the  older  residents,  and  resented  being  advised  how  to  con- 
duct themselves.  They  were  for  the  most  part  not  in  touch 
with  any  civic  agency.  The  migrants,  therefore,  came  into 
contact  with  the  lower  element.  The  recreations  and  amuse- 
ments of  the  newcomers  were  those  which  the  social  outcasts 
furnished  them.^ 

Another  anomaly  was  to  be  observed  in  the  motives  behind 
the  migration.  The  most  recent  European  immigrants,  unfa- 
miliar with  the  character  of  the  plants,  having  strong  bodies 
and  a  disposition  :  j  work,  are  engaged  as  unskilled  laborers. 
They  do  ntjt,  of  course,  remain  at  th's  level,  but  are  continually 
pushed  forward  by  later  comers.  The  men  who  filled  these 
lower  positions  were  not  the  best  type  of  foreigners.  When 
the  war  began  and  this  infiu.x  from  Europe  was  stopped,  it  was 
for  these  positions  that  the  plants  were  forced  to  seek  men. 
Negroes  were  sought  in  the  South,  but,  unfortunately,  the  em- 
phasis was  placed  on  quantity  and  not  quality.  Tliose  who  were 
able  to  move  on  shortest  notice,  those  with  few  responsibilities 

•  liefore  1910.  114  persons  had  arrived;  between  1911  and  1915,  72;    'Mrirg 
1916,  74;  dnrng  1917.  102;  and  during  1918,  40  persons  had  arrived, 
2  Johnson,  Report  on  the  Migration  to  Chicago. 


CHICAGO   AND    ITS    ENVIRONS 


113 


and  few  interests  at  home,  were  snapped  up  by  the  labor  agents. 
This  blunder  has  also  registered  itself  in  the  records  of  the 
city  and  the  character  of  the  negro  migrants.  This  was  probably 
due  to  the  fact  that  little  is  known  of  Milwaukee  in  the  South. 
Unlike  Chicago,  Detroit,  New  York  and  other  northern  cities, 
it  was  not  a  popular  destination  for  voluntary  migration.  Agents 
who  scoured  the  South  for  men  testified  that  in  a  large  number 
of  cases  the  first  question  asked  was  whether  or  not  Milwaukee 
was  a  wet  town,  for  the  southern  States  have  prohiljited  the 
sale  of  liquor.  While  Chicago  got  advertisement  in  the  South 
through  its  great  mail  order  business,  most  of  what  wa  known 
of  Milwaukee  related  to  its  breweries. 

The  negroes  here,  however,  had  numerous  industrial  oppor- 
tunities. The  manner  in  which  the  trades  suddenly  opened 
up  to  them  made  it  difficult  to  ascertain  the  number  of  negroes 
so  engaged.  An  intensive  study  of  a  neighborhood  showed  a 
much  wider  variety  of  skilled  negro  laborers  and  brought  to 
light  the  caser  ^f  many  not  otherwise  known.  One  man  in 
touch  with  the  iron  workers  of  the  city  ventured  the  statement 
that  there  were  perhaps  75  negroes  engaged  in  skilled  work 
in  the  iron  and  steel  industries  of  the  city.  In  a  large  number 
of  other  plants  one  or  two  negroes  had  succeeded  in  finding 
skilled  employment.  Firms  known  to  employ  negroes  in  the 
capacity  of  skilled  workmen  are  the  Plankington  Packing  Com- 
pany, Wehr  Steel  and  Machine  Shops,  the  National  Malleable 
Iron  Works,  A.  J.  Lindeman-Hoverson  Company  and  the  Mil- 
waukee Coke  and  Gas  Company.  For  the  most  part  skilled 
negroes  are  butchers  and  molders.* 

In  the  case  of  negroes  from  the  South  with  trades,  however, 
there  arose  a  situation  which  is  seldom  fully  appreciated.  A 
man  in  the  South  may  be  skilled  in  such  an  independent  trade 
as  shoemaking,  tailoring,  carpentry  and  the  like,  but  in  a  north- 
ern city  with  its  highly  specialized  industrial  processes  and  divi- 
sions of  labor,  he  must  learn  over  again  what  he  thought  he 
had  mastered,  or  abandon  his  trade  entirely  and  seek  employ- 
ment in  unskilled  lines.     The  wages  for  skilled  work  were  for 

'Johnson,  Report  on  the  Migration  to  Chicago. 


114  NEGRO    MIGRATION    DURING  THE   WAR 

butchers,  55  to  tii  cents  an  hour;  for  steel  molders,  35  to  47 
cents  an  hour;  for  firemen.  $27  per  week;  for  chaufifeurs,  $15 
to  $;50  a  week;  for  shoemakers.  $20  a  week;  stationary  firemen. 
$24  a  week.  The  mass  of  negroes,  men  and  women,  gainfully 
employed  in  the  city  was  made  up  of  manual  laborers.  Vacan- 
cies for  negroes  in  industry  were  made  at  the  bottom.  The 
range  of  occupations  in  unskilled  work,  however,  was  fairly 
wide.  They  were  packing  house  employes,  muckers,  tannery 
laborers,  street  construction  workers,  dock  hands  and  foundry 
laborers.  Their  wages  were  for  foundry  laborers,  32Vj  cents 
to  ;]5  cents  an  hour;  for  muckers,  $28  a  week;  for  tannery 
laborers,  $24  a  week;  dock  hands,  GO  cents  an  hour;  and  for 
packing  house  laborers.  43  cents  an  hour  (male),  and  30Vj  cents 
an  hour  (female).  There  were  also  porters  in  stores  and  jan- 
itors whose  weekly  wages  averaged  between  $15  and  $18  per 
week. 

Several  firms  made  strenuous  efforts  to  induce  laborers  to 
come  from  the  South.  The  Pfister-Vogel  Company  employed  a 
negro  to  serure  them  for  this  purpose,  and  made  preparation 
for  their  lodging  and  board.  This  representative  stated  that 
he  was  responsible  for  the  presence  of  about  300  negroes  in 
the  city.  Reverend  J.  S.  Woods  of  the  Booker  T.  Washington 
social  settlement,  who  was  actively  engaged  in  assisting  the 
plants,  asserted  that  he  had  placed  over  400.  The  Albert  Trostel 
Company  paid  transportation  for  nearly  100  men. 

The  principal  industries  employing  negroes  with  the  number 

employed  were  about  as  follows:* 

Xumber 
Firm  ^I*'^  Female 

Plankington  Packing  Co 78  10 

Albert  Ti.-3lc1  Leather  Co 75  30 

Faulk's  Manufacturing  Co 34 

Hoffman  .Manufacturing  Co 2 

Tunnell  Construction  Co 10 

Milwaukee  Coke  and  Gas  Co 38 

Pfistcr-Vogel   Tannery    75 

A.  J.  I.incleman-Hovcrson  Co '3 

National   Malleable   Iron  Co ^2 

Salvay  Steel  Castings  Co ^4 

.\llis   Chalmers    '0 

1  Johnson,  Report  on  the  Migration  to  Chicago. 


CHICAGO   AND   ITS   ENVIRONS  115 

On  December  1,  1917,  the  Plankington  Packing  Company 
employed  5)3  men  and  27  women.  The  Phster-Vogel  Company 
had  only  75  men  in  its  employ.  This  company,  however,  within 
18  months  had  employed  300  negroes  from  .he  South. 

Concerning  the  range  of  wages  for  negroes  in  these  lines 
the  data  provided  by  these  firms  gave  some  means  of  informa- 
tion. 

Firms  Ma'c  Female 

Plankington  Packing  Co 43c  to  64c  an  hour   oOVic  an  hour 

Faulk's  .Manufacturing  Co.  ...  35c  to  47c  an  hour   

Hoffman  Manufacturing  Co.   .  32M!C   an   hour    

Tunnell  Construction  Co $4  a  day   

Albert  Trostel  Co 40c  an  hour  30c  an  hour 

Milwaukee  Coke  and  Gas  Co.  $3.67    to   $4.79   a    day 

A.  J.  Lindeman-Hoverson  Co.  $3  to  $5  a  day  

National  Malleable  Iron  Co.  ..  35c  an  hour  to  $4  a  day 

Pfister-Vogel  Tannery   $22  to  $24  a  week 

The  quality  of  the  workingmen  is  of  interest  both  to  the 
employers  and  social  workers.  To  get  uniform  data  employers 
were  asked  the  principal  faults  and  principal  merits  of  their 
negro  workmen.  To  the  question,  "  What  are  the  principal 
faults  of  your  negro  workmen?  "  these  answers  were  given:  * 

None  that  predominate. 

The  principal  fault  of  negro  workmen  is,  they  are  slow  and  very  hard  to 

please. 
Not  good  on  rapid  moving  machinery,  have  not  had  mechanical  training; 

slow ;  not  stable. 
Inclined  to  be  irregular  in  attendance  to  work. 
Very  unsteady. 
Leave  in  summertime  for  road  work. 

To  the  question,  "  What  are  the  principal  merits  of  your 
negro  workmen  ?  "  these  answers  were  given : 

They  are  superior  to  foreign  labor  because  they  readily  understand  what 

you  try  to  tell  them. 
Loyalty,  willingness,  cheerfulness. 
The  skilled  men  stick  and  are  good  workmen. 
Generally  speaking  they  are  agreeable  workmen. 
Quicker,  huskier,  and  can  stand  more  heat  than  other  workmen. 

*  Johnson,  Report  on  the  Migration  to  Chicago. 


I  i 


r  ! 


IIG  NEGRU    MIGRATION    UI;RIXG   THE    WAR 

The  attitude  of  white  and  black  workmen  toward  one  an- 
other in  none  of  the  plants  visited  presented  anything  like 
a  serious  situation.  The  following  are  answers  to  questions 
relating  to  this  sentiment  as  returned  by  tlie  important 
industries :  * 

No  feeling— no  complaints— no  comments. 

White  and  black  get  along  well.  There  was  a  little  trouble  some  time 
ago  between  a  Jewish  foreman  anil  his  negro  workmen.  .Ml  the 
negroes  quit.    The  matter  was  investigated  and  the  foreman  discharged. 

Good. 

The  relations  are  favorable,  although  negroes  appear  a  bit  clannish. 

Good   fellowship  prevai'-. 

Negroes  do  not  stay  long  enough  to  get  acquainted. 

Good  in  most  cases.  Very  little  opposition.  Tlioy  are  working  as  helpers 
with  whites.    Few  objections. 

As  a  filial  eflfort  to  get  the  opinion  of  employers  themselves 
concerning  the  best  means  of  improving  their  lalxjr,  a  sugges- 
tion from  them  on  this  matter  was  solicited.  Their  views  are 
subjoined :  ^ 

.A  rather  broad  question  and  one  that  could  only  be  answered  "fter  con- 
siderable study.  Believe  the  great  trouble  with  negrc  labor  has  been 
the  fact  that  a  poor  class  of  negroes  has  been  employed  by  many.  We 
have  a  good  lot  of  workers  now. 

Some  nuans  should  be  devised  to  get  them  away  from  their  general  shift- 
less ways. 

Education. 

.■\s  a  negro  can  be  very  contented  and  happy  on  very  little,  if  their  living 
conditions  were  improved  and  the  desire  created  in  them  to  improve 
their  cndition,  this  would  be  a  help  towards  encouragement  in  better- 
ing their  social  condition.  In  fact,  we  feel  that  anything  that  would 
help  to  better  the  social  attention  of  the  negro  would  make  him  a 
better  workman. 

Better  housing  and  supervision  through  some  responsible  organization. 
Some   way  to  keep  sympathetic  watch  over  them. 

Without  doubt  there  is  an  clcnic.it  of  truth  in  each  of  these 
comments.  It  is  uiuiuestionably  true  that  a  large  number  of 
these  men  register  by  their  actions  instability,  irregularity  and 
general  shiftlessness.     Some  of  these  cases  are  inexcusable,  and 

1  Johnson,  Report  on  the  Migration  to  Chicago. 

2  Ibid. 


CHICAGO  AND   ITS   ENVIRONS 


117 


the  only  reason  for  their  connection  with  the  industry  is  the  fact 
that  they  were  hronght  from  the  South,  where  they  were  volun- 
tarily idle,  hy  agents  of  employers.  The  importation  merely 
shifted  the  scene  of  their  deliberate  loafing  and  spasmodic  con- 
tact with  work. 

Employers  in  all  of  the  plants  know  that  they  have  had 
difficulty  in  holding  their  negro  labor,  but  do  not  know  why. 
Most  of  the  men  willing  to  leave  the  city  were  unmarried  men 
with  few  responsibilities.  These  are  the  ones  who  found  em- 
ployment there  and,  Ix-ing  dissatisfied,  quit.  The  highest  negro 
labor  turnover  was  in  the  leather  factories.  But  for  this  there 
was  a  reason.  The  only  employment  permitted  negroes  there 
was  wet  and  very  disagreeable  beam  work,  and  at  wages  not 
in  excess  of  those  paid  by  neighboring  plants  with  a  different 
grade  of  work.  Inquiries  among  laboring  men  reveal  reasons 
plausible  indeed  to  the  laborers  themselves,  which  in  many  cases 
would  have  been  found  reasonable  also  by  the  employers. 

It  is  generally  known  that  all  classes  of  labor  of  all  nationali- 
ties are  in  an  unsettled  tate.  Shifting  to  the  higher  paid  in- 
dustries is  common.  In  consequence  the  disagreeable  and  poorly 
paid  ones  have  suffered.  The  instability  of  negroes,  especially 
in  those  industries  that  have  been  so  hard  pressed  as  to  find 
it  necessary  to  go  South  for  men,  is  not  so  much  a  group 
characteristic  as  an  expression  of  present  tendencies  in  labor 

generally. 

Reasons  of  a  more  intimate  nature  advanced  by  the  men  for 
changing  jobs  are  numerous.  Among  these  are  dissatisfaction 
with  the  treatment  of  petty  white  bosses,  the  necessity  for  ready 
money  for  the  care  of  their  families,  the  distance  of  the  plants 
from  the  district  in  which  the  negro  workmen  live*  and  the 
unpleasant  indoor  work  in  certain  factories. 

The  social  condition  of  negroes  in  Milwaukee  is  not  alarming. 
There    are    indicated,    however,    unmistakable    maladjustments 

lA  simple  situation  of  this  nature  registers  itself  without  explanation 
.iRainst  the  character  of  negroes  in  the  records  of  the  firms,  the  flist<-r- 
Vogel  Company  had  a  house  on  Clinton  Street  )n  which  lived  twenty  or 
more  negroes.  This  locatic,  is  eight  or  ten  miles  away  from  the  com- 
munity in  which  negroes  live.  There  are  no  amusements  f ">•»';.««•  >°"nK 
men  around  Clinton  Street.    The  cars  stop  running  at  a  comparatively  early 


M      I: 


118 


NEGRO    MIGRATION    DURING    THE    WAR 


wliicli  require  immediate  attention.  But  even  these  will  not 
become  alarming,  if  checked  now,  when  preventive  measures  can 
he  made  practicable,  attractive  and  easy. 

The  neighborhoods  in  which  negroes  live  have  long  showed 
evidence  of  physical  and  moral  deterioration.  The  addition 
<.f  1.400  negroes  from  the  South,  over  70  per  cent  of  whom 
were  brought  to  the  city  by  companies  seeking  labor,  hastened 
tlie  deterioration  and  gave  rise  to  problems  where  only  tenden- 
cies existed  before.  Neighborhood  life  is  conspicuously  lax 
and  the  spirit  of  the  community  quite  naturally  comports  with 
the  looseness  and  immorality  of  the  district.  Though  such  con- 
ditions are  plainly  i.-vident,  no  organized  influence  has  been 
projected  to  correct  them.  As  with  the  neighborhooc',  so  with 
housing,  crime,  delinquency,  education,  recreation,  industry,  and 
the  like,  the  conditions  which  retard  developmental  habits  must 
have  constant  vigilance  and  treatment. 

lioiir.  If  they  go  to  the  city  they  must  either  cotne  back  in  a  taxicab  or  spend 
the  evening  away  from  home.  It  is  less  expensive  to  spend  tlic  eveninj? 
nway.  As  a  result  thry  are  late  for  work  and  may  not  report.  If  they 
report,  they  arc  tired  and  until  for  work.  If  they  do  not  they  are  put 
down  as  irregular  and  unsteady. — Johnson,  Refort  on  the  Migration  to 
Chicago. 


CHAPTER  XI 

The  Situation  at  Points  in  the  Middle  West 

The  most  important  city  in  this  section  to  be  affected  by  the 
migration  was  Pittsburgh,  the  gateway  to  the  West.  The  Pitts- 
burgh district  is  the  center  of  the  steel  industry.  For  this  reason, 
the  war  caused  the  demand  for  labor  to  be  extremely  he.nvy  there. 
Pittsburgh  was  one  of  the  centers  to  which  the  greatest  number 
of  negroes  went.  Before  the  migration,  a  considerable  number 
of  negroes  were  employed  there.  In  1900,  the  negro  population 
of  Allegheny  county,  in  which  Pittsburgh  is  situated,  was  27,75.3. 
In  1910  it  was  3-i.2l7,  When  the  migration  began,  the  county 
had  about  38,000  negroes.  Investigations  and  estimates  indicate 
that,  at  the  end  of  1917,  the  negro  population  of  the  county  had 
increased  to  almost  66,000.  Epstein  in  his  survey  of  The  Negro 
Migrant  in  Pittsburgh  said :  * 

From  a  canvass  of  twenty  typical  industries  in  the  Pittsburgh  district, 
it  was  found  that  there  were  2,550  negroes  employed  in  1915,  and  8.325  in 
1917,  an  increase  of  5,775  or  227  per  cent.  It  was  impossible  to  obtain  labor 
data'  from  more  than  approximately  sixty  per  cent  of  the  negro  employing 
concerns,  but  it  is  fair  to  assume  that  the  same  ratio  of  increase  holds 
true  of  the  remaining  forty  per  cent.  On  this  basis  the  number  of  negroes 
now  employed  in  the  district  may  be  placed  at  14,000.  This  means  that 
there  are  about  9,750  more  negroes  working  in  the  district  today  than  there 
were  in  191S,  an  addition  due  to  the  migration  from  the  South. 

According  to  Epstein,  the  migration  had  been  going  on  for 
little  longer  than  one  year.  Ninety-three  per  cent  of  those 
who  gave  the  time  of  residence  in  Pittsburgh  had  been  there 
less  than  one  year.  More  than  eighty  per  cent  of  the  single 
men  interviewed  had  been  there  less  than  six  months.  In  the 
number  who  had  been  there  for  the  longest  period,  married 
men  predominated,  showing  the  tendency  of  this  class  to  become 

1  Epstein,  The  Negro  Migrant  in  Pittsburgh,  p.  7. 

119 


120 


NEORU    MIGRATIU.N    DURINU   THK   WAR 


peniiaiiciit  residents.  This  fact  l»ect. tiling  eviilent,  some  in- 
<lustrial  cuncems  bringing  men  from  the  South,  having  learned 
front  Ijittcr  experience  that  tlie  nun-  delivery  of  negroes  from 
a  soutliern  city  diil  not  gxiarantee  a  siit'ticicnt  supply  of  lalwr. 
made  an  effort  to  secure  married  men  only,  and  even  to  investi- 
gate them  prior  to  tlnir  coming.  l)i:Terences  in  recruiting 
mctliods  may  also  explain  why  some  employers  and  labor  agents 
hold  a  very  optimistic  view  of  the  negro  as  a  worker,  while 
others  despair  of  hitn.  The  reason  why  Pittsburgh  has  been 
unable  to  secure  a  stable  labor  force  is  doubtless  realized  by 
the  local  lanufacturers.  Married  negroes  come  to  the  North 
to  _,.  ihey  desire  to  have  their  families  with  them,  and 
if  they  are  not  accompanied  North  by  their  wives  and  children 
they  plan  to  have  them  follow  at  the  earliest  possiijle  date. 

It  would  appear  that  the  stability  of  the  labor  supply  de- 
pended to  a  very  large  extent  upon  the  lu)using  conditions.  It 
was  found  that  in  many  instances  men  who  had  families  went 
to  other  cities  where  they  hoped  to  find  better  accommodations. 
The  Pittsburgh  manufacturer  will  never  keep  an  efficient  lalwr 
supply  of  negroes  until  he  learns  to  comj)ete  with  the  employers 
of  other  cities  in  a  housing  program  as  well  as  in  wages.  The 
negro  migration  in  Pittsburgh,  however,  did  not  cause  a  dis- 
placement of  white  laborers.  Every  man  was  needed,  as  there 
were  more  jobs  than  men  to  fill  them.  Pittsburgh's  industrial 
life  was  for  a  time  dependent  upon  the  negro  labor  supply,  and 
the  city  has  not  received  a  sufficient  supply  of  negroes,  and  cer- 
tainly not  so  many  as  smaller  industrial  towns,  although  the 
railroads  and  a  few  of  the  industrial  concerns  of  the  locality 
have  had  labor  agents  mi  the  South.  Yet,  in  spite  of  the  dift'i- 
cuhies  because  of  the  obstructive  tactics  adopted  in  certain 
southern  comnuinines  to  prevent  the  negro  exodus,  they  have 
nevertheless  succeeded  in  bringing  several  thousand  negroes  into 
this  district.  "  One  company,  for  instance,"  says  Epstein, 
"  which  imported  abcnit  a  thousand  men  within  the  past  year, 
had  only  alx)Ut  three  hundred  of  these  working  at  the  time  of 
the  investigator's  visit  in  July.  HUT.  One  railroad,  which  is 
said  to  have  brought  about   fourteen  thousand  people  to  the 


THE   SITUATION    AT    I'OINTS    IN    THE    MIDDLE    WEST 


121 


North  within  the  last  twelve  months,  has  Iwen  ablo  to  keep  an 
average  of  onl.  eighteen  hundred  at  work."  These  companies, 
however,  have  failed  to  hold  the  newcomers. 

The  problems  created  by  this  suiMen  increase  of  Pittsburgh's 
population  were  very  grave.  In  the  early  pan  of  1017,  plans 
were  formulated  to  make  a  social  survey  of  the  migra^  s  in 
Pittsburgh.  Cooperating  in  this  survey  were  the  University 
of  Pittsburgh,  the  Associated  Charities,  the  Social  Service  Com- 
mission of  the  Churches  of  Christ  and  the  National  League  on 
Urban  Conditions  among  Negroes.  In  March,  lUl",  the  direc- 
tor of  the  Department  of  Public  Health,  instructed  the  sanitary 
inspectors  to  pay  sjwcial  attention  to  all  premises  occupied  by 
the  "  newcomers."  Another  step  in  this  direction  was  the  es- 
tablishment in  that  city  of  a  branch  of  the  National  League 
on  Urban  Conditions  among  Negroes. 

A  survey  made  in  1917  showed  that  the  housing  situation  was 
the  most  serious  aspect  of  the  migrants'  social  problems,  and 
that  in  order  to  have  improvements  in  other  lines  housing  con- 
ditions must  be  made  better.  Because  of  the  high  cost  of 
materials  and  labor  incident  to  the  war,  because  the  taxation 
system  still  does  not  encourage  improvements  and  because  of 
investment  attractions  other  than  in  realty,  few  houses  had 
been  built  and  practically  no  improvements  had  been  made.  This 
was  most  strikingly  apparent  in  the  poorer  sections  of  the  city. 
'i  the  nc^'rr>  sections,  for  instance,  there  had  been  almost  no 
houses  added  and  few  vacated  by  whites  within  the  previous 
two  years.  The  addition,  therefore,  of  thousands  of  negroes 
just  arrived  from  southern  States  meant  not  only  the  creation 
of  new  negro  quarters  and  the  dispersion  of  negroes  through- 
out the  city,  but  also  the  utmost  utilization  of  every  place  in 
the  negro  sections  capable  of  being  transformed  into  habitations. 
Attics  and  cellars,  storerooms  and  basements,  churches,  sheds 
and  warehouses  had  to  be  employed  for  the  accommodation 
of  these  newcomers.  Whenever  a  negro  had  space  which  he 
could  possibly  spare,  it  was  converted  into  a  sleeping  place;  as 
many  beds  as  possible  were  crowded  into  it,  and  the  maximum 
number  of  men  per  bed  were  lodged.    Either  because  their  own 


122  NEGRO    MIGRATION,  DURING   THK    WAR 

rents  were  high  or  because  they  were  unable  to  withstand  the 
temptation  of  the  sudden,  and.  for  all  they  knew,  temporary 
harvest,  or  perhaps  because  of  the  altruistic  desire  to  assist  their 
race  fellows,  a  majo.ity  of  the  negroes  in  Pittsburgh  converted 
their  homes  into  lodging  houses. 

Because  rooms  were  hard  to  come  by  the  lodgers  were  not  disposed  to 
complain  about  the  living  conditions  jr  the  prices  charged.  I'hcy  were  only 
too  glad  to  secure  a  place  where  they  could  share  a  half  or  at  least  a  part 
of  an  unclaimed  bed.  It  was  no  easy  task  to  find  room  for  a  family,  as 
most  boarding  houses  would  accept  only  single  men,  and  refused  to  admit 
women  and  children.  Many  a  man,  who  with  his  family  occupied  only 
one  or  two  rooms,  made  place  for  a  friend  or  former  townsman  and  his 
family.  In  many  instances  this  was  done  from  unselfish  motives  and  in 
a  humane  spirit.' 

How  the  negr  v..  ^re  employed  will  throw  more  light  on  their 
situation.     The  i  ;   lein  investigation  showed  that 

Ninety-five  per  cent  of  the  migrants  who  stated  their  occupations  were 
doing  unskilled  labor,  in  the  steel  mills,  the  building  trades,  on  the  railroads, 
or  acting  as  servants,  porters,  janitors,  cooks  and  cleaners.  Only  twenty,  or 
^our  per  cent  out  of  493  migrants  whose  occupations  were  ascertained,  were 
doing  what  may  be  called  semiskilled  or  skilled  work,  a>;  puddlers,  mold- 
setters,  painters  and  carpenters.  On  the  other  hand,  in  the  South  59  out 
of  529  claimed  to  have  been  engaged  in  skilled  labor,  while  a  large  number 
were  rural  workers. 

The  following  table  shows  the  occupations  of  migrants  in  Pitts- 
burgh as  compared  with  statements  of  occupations  in  the  South: 

Occupations                Tn  Pittsburgh  %             In  South  % 

Common  laborer   468  95                  286  54 

Skilled  or  semiskilled   20                       4                    59  U 

[■                                                                                              81  IS 

i-armer    _ 

^Ji""  , 9  2 

Sawmill  workers    ' 

Ran  own  farm  or  father's  farm  22  5 

Ran  f.irm  on  crop  sharing  basis  ^  * 

Other  occupations   5  1  ''  " 

It  seems  clear  that  most  of  the  migrants  were  engaged  in 
unskilled   labor.     The   .ca-^on  given  by  the  manufacturers  in 

»  Epstein,   The  Negro  Migrant  in  Pittsburgh,  pp.  7-8. 


THE   SITUATION    AT    POINTS   IN    THE    MIDDLE    WEST 


123 


accounting  for  this  disparity  were  that  the  migrants  are  ineffi- 
cient and  unstable,  and  that  the  opposition  to  them  on  the  part 
of  the  white  kbur  prohibits  their  use  on  skilled  jobs.*  Ninety- 
five  per  cent  of  the  negro  workers  in  the  steel  mills  were  unskilled 
laborers.  "  In  the  bigger  plants,"  says  the  investigator,  "  where 
many  hundreds  of  negroes  are  employed,  almost  one  hundred 
per  cent  are  doi.ig  common  labor,  while  in  the  smiUer  plants, 
a  few  might  be  found  doing  labor  which  requi  ed  some  skill." 
Epstein  believes  that  this  idea  is  often  due  to  'le  prejudice  o< 
the  heads  of  departments  and  other  labor  emp  yt"-s.  A  sy.i.- 
pathetic  superintendent  of  one  of  the  large  si-d  plants  said 
that  in  many  instances  it  was  the  superintendents  and  managers 
themselves  who  are  not  alive  to  their  own  advantage,  and  so 
oppose  the  negroes  in  doing  the  better  classes  of  work.  The 
same  superintendent  said  that  he  had  employed  negroes  for 
many  years;  that  a  number  of  them  had  been  connected  with 
his  company  for  several  years;  that  they  are  ju^t  as  efficient 
as  the  white  people.  More  than  half  of  the  twenty-five  negroes 
in  his  plant  were  doing  semiskilled  and  even  skilled  work.  He 
had  one  or  two  negro  foremen  over  negro  gangs,  and  cited 
an  instance  of  a  black  man  drawing  $114  in  his  last  two  weeks' 
pay.  This  claim  was  supported  by  a  very  intelligent  negro  who 
was  stopped  a  few  blocks  away  from  the  plant  and  questioned 
as  to  the  conditions  there.  While  admitting  everything  that 
the  superintendent  said,  and  stating  that  there  is  now  absolute 
free  opportunity  for  negroes  in  that  plant,  the  man  asserted 
that  these  conditions  have  obtained  within  the  last  year.- 

It  was  found  that  in  the  Pittsburgh  district  the  great  mass 
of  workers  get  higher  wages  than  in  the  places  from  which 

»  The  latter  objection  is  illustrated  by  the  case  of  the  white  barRemen  of 
a  big  steel  company  who  wanted  to  walk  out  because  black  workers  were 
introduced  .imong  them,  and  who  were  oniy  appeased  by  the  provision  of 
separate  quarters  for  the  negroes.  While  there  is  an  undeniable  hostility 
to  negroes  on  the  part  of  a  few  white  workers,  the  objection  is  frequently 
•■xaggcrated  by  prejudiced  ganR  bosses. 

2  The  same  superintend  nt  told  of  an  episode  illustrating  the  amicable 
relations  existing  in  his  shop  between  white  and  black  workers.  He  related 
that  a  gang  of  workers  had  come  to  him  with  certain  complaints  and  the 
threat  of  a  walkout.  When  their  grievances  had  been  satisfactorily  adjusted, 
they  pointed  to  the  lonely  black  man  in  their  group  and  said  that  they  were 
not  ready  to  go  IjacV  unless  their  negro  fe'low  worker  was  satisfied. 


124 


NiaiRO    MIGRATION    DURING    THE    WAR 


they  come.  Fifty-six  per  cent  received  less  than  $2  a  day  in 
tlie  South,  while  only  me  per  cent  received  such  wages  in  Pitts- 
burgh However,  the  number  of  those  who  said  they  received 
high  wages  in  the  South  is  greater  than  the  number  of  those 
receiving  them  there.  Fifteen  per  cent  said  they  received  more 
than  $,'i.GO  a  day  at  home,  while  only  five  per  cent  said  they 
received  more  than  that  rate  for  twelve  hours'  work  there. 
Sixty-seven  per  cent  of  the  453  persons  stating  their  earnings 
here,  earn  less  than  $3  a  day.  Twenty-eight  per  cent  earn  from 
$3  to  $3. GO  a  day,  while  only  five  per  cent  earn  more  than 
$3.00  a  day.  The  average  working  day  for  both  Pittsburgh 
and  the  South  is  ten  and  four-tenths  hours.  The  average  wage 
is  $2.85  here;  in  the  South  it  amounted  to  $2.15.  It  may  be 
interesting  to  point  out  that  the  number  of  married  men  who 
work  longer  hours  and  receive  more  money  is  proportionately 
greater  than  that  of  the  single  men,  who  have  not  "  given  hostage 
to  fortune." 

Judging  from  what  has  l^en  said  about  the  habits  of  living 
among  the  negro  migrants  in  Pittsburgh,  they  are  of  the  best 
class  of  their  race.  Chief  among  those  to  be  mentioned  is  their 
tendency  to  abstain  from  the  use  of  intoxicants  although  it  has 
often  been  said  that  the  cause  of  the  migration  from  the  South 
was  due  to  the  desire  of  negroes  in  prohibition  States  to  ^^ 
where  they  may  make  free  use  of  whisky.  In  this  city  it  was 
observed  that  out  of  470  persons  who  answered  questions  with 
reference  to  whether  or  not  they  imbibed  only  210  of  them 
said  that  they  drank,  while  207  made  no  use  of  intoxicants 
at  all.  It  was  also  observed  that  among  those  who  have  families, 
the  percentage  of  those  addicted  to  drmk  is  much  smaller  than 
that  of  others  who  are  single  or  left  their  families  in  the  South. 
This,  no  doubt,  accounts  for  the  orderly  conduct  of  these  negroes 
who.  according  to  statistics,  have  not  experienced  a  wave  of 
crime.  The  records  of  the  courts  show  numerous  small  offenses 
charged  to  the  account  of  negroes,  but  these  usually  result  from 
temptations  and  snares  set  by  institutions  of  vice  which  are 
winked  at  by  the  community. 

These  negroes,  on  the  whole,  are  thrifty  and  will  eventually 


THli   SITUATION    AT    POINTS    IN    THE    MIDDLE    WEST 


125 


attach  themselves  permanently  to  the  community  through  the 
acquisition  of  desirable  property  and  elevation  to  positions  of 
trust  in  the  industries  where  they  are  employed.  Evidences  of 
the  lazy  and  shiftless  and  the  immoral  are  not  frequent,  because 
of  a  sort  of  spirit  of  thrift  pervading  t.ie  whole  group.  Many 
of  the  families  have  savings  accounts  in  banks,  and  practically 
all  of  the  married  men  separated  from  their  families  in  the 
South  send  a  large  portion  of  their  earnings  from  time  to  time. 
Money  order  receipts  and  stubs  of  checks  examined  show  that 
these  remittances  to  distant  families  range  from  between  $.'>  to 
$10  a  week.  Others  have  seen  fit  to  divert  their  income  to 
objects  more  enterprising.  They  are  educating  their  children, 
purchasing  homes  and  establishing  businesses  to  minister  to  the 
needs  of  their  own  peculiar  group. 

In  view  of  the  desirability  of  most  migrants  in  this  city, 
several  persons  have  seen  fit  to  make  a  comparison  of  the  negro 
and  foreign  labor,  with  a  view  to  determining  whether  or  not 
the  employment  of  negroes  in  the  North  will  be  permanent,  as 
they  may  easily  be  displaced  by  the  foreigners  immigrating  into 
this  country  in  the  future.  The  consensus  of  opinion  is  that 
the  blacks  are  profitable  laborers,  but  that  their  efficiency  must 
be  decidedly  increased  to  compete  with  that  of  the  white  workers. 
Some  of  the  fauhs  observed  are  that  they  are  as  yet  unadapted 
to  the  "  heavy  and  pace-set  labor  in  the  steel  mills."  Accustomed 
to  the  comparatively  easy  going  plantation  and  farm  work  of 
the  South,  it  will  take  some  time  for  these  migrants  to  find 
themselves.  "  They  can  not  even  be  persuaded  to  wait  until 
pay  day,  and  they  like  to  get  money  in  advance,  following  the 
habit  that  they  acquired  from  the  southern  credit  system.  It 
is  often  secured  on  very  flimsy  pretexts  and  spent  immediately 
in  the  .saloons  and  similar  places."  Yet  the  very  persons  who 
make  this  estimate  of  the  negro  laborer  say  that  the  negroes 
born  in  the  North  or  who  have  been  in  the  North  some  time 
are  as  efficient  as  the  whites,  and  that  because  of  their  knowledge 
of  the  language  and  the  ways  of  this  country,  they  are  often 
much  better  than  the  foreign  laborers  who  understand  neither. 

The  principal  industrial  centers  in  Ohio  to  which  the  migrants 


126 


NEGRO    MIGRATIUN    DURING   THE    WAR 


went  were  Cincinnati.  Middletown,  Akron.  Uayton,  Springfield. 
Youngstown,  Columbus  and  Cleveland.  The  city  which  took 
the  lead  in  endeavoring  to  handle  the  migration  problem  was 
Cleveland.  This  was  due  to  a  couMderable  extent  to  the  fact 
that  the  housing  conditions  in  Cleveland  were  espec.ally  bad. 
Investigations  made  in  tlie  summer  of  1017  by  the  Chamber 
of  Commerce  showed  that  housing  conditions  never  were  so 
in  need  of  remedying  as  they  were  at  that  time.  The  influx 
of  negroes,  thousands  of  whom  were  living  in  box  cars  on 
railway  sidings,  was  only  one  feature  of  the  problem,  investi- 
gators say.  In  nearly  every  part  of  the  city,  and  especially 
in  the  vicinity  of  large  manufacturing  plants,  workers  are  herded 
together,  paying  as  much  as  $8  a  week  for  a  single  room  for 
a  whole  family.' 

The  Cleveland   Welfare  Federation  appointed  a  committee 
composed  of  representatives  of  both  races,  to  study  problems 
made  acute  in  Cleveland  by  the  recent  incoming  of  probably 
10,000  negroes  from  the  South.     At  the  first  meeting  of  this 
committee.   August  3,   1917.  the  city  welfare  department  an- 
nounced  that   Gl    per  cent  of  the  men  in  the  workhouse   at 
Warrensville  were  negroes  and  that  of  100  women  6G  were 
negroes.     The  normal  proportion  of  negroes  in  the  workhouse 
before  the  migration  began  was  about   10  per  cent,  he  said. 
This  nad  mounted  rapidly  in  the  last  year.     It  was  brought 
out  that  the  cause  of  this  increase  lay  in  housing  congestion, 
lack  of  opportunities  for  recreation  and  because  negro  migrants 
are  ignorant  of  the  city's  customs,  laws  and  ordinances.    A  sub- 
committee was  therefore  appointed  to  look  into  this  matter, 
as  well  as  into  tlvat  of  perils  surrounding  newly  arrived  negro 
girls.     A  subcommittee  was  also  appointed  to  study  housing 
congestion  and  health  problems.    The  secretary  of  the  Cleveland 
Real  Estate  Board  reiterated  that  there  were  10,000  houses, 
renting  at  $25  and  under,  needed  at  the  present  time  for  both 
negro  and  white  residents,  and  that,  owing  to  labor  difficulties 
and  the  high  price  of  building  materials,  very  little  had  been 
done  to  relieve  the  situation.     He  stated  that  a  partial  solution 

^Clcfcland  Neu-s.  August  11,  1917. 


I 


THE  SITUATION    AT    POINTS    IN    THE    MIDDLE   WEST 


127 


could  1)e  found  in  inducing  both  negro  and  white  people  who 
could  aflford  to  build  or  buy  houses  to  do  so.  and  thus  free  more 
house'^  fnr  those  who  can  not  afford  to  buy  them.  It  was 
asse  that  unless  something  should  be  done  before  cold  weather 
the  1.  msing  problem  would  l)ecome  acute.'  To  assist  in  meeting 
the  house  shortage  a  group  of  prominent  negroes  organized 
"  The  Realty  Housing  and  Investment  Company."  " 

The  negro  churches  and  other  organizations  cooperated  in 
the  eflfort  to  solve  the  problem  of  caring  for  the  newly  arrived 
negroes.  In  December.  Ii>l7,  all  the  organizations  and  agencies 
working  to  aid  the  migrants  were  united  in  the  Negro  Welfare 
Association  of  Cleveland.-^  William  R.  Connors,  a  negro  social 
worker,  was  employed  as  executive  secretary  of  the  new  organi- 
zation, beginning  January  1.  and  offices  were  opened  in  the  Phyl- 
lis Wheatley  .Association  Building  at  East  40th  Street  and  Cen- 
tral Avenue.  The  budget  for  the  first  year  was  estimated  at 
about  $5,000. 

The  organization  acted  as  a  clearing  house  for  all  the  problems 
confronting  the  negro  people  there  and  cooperated  with  other 
agencies  in  the  following  activities:  relief  work,  nursing  service, 
legal  aid,  employment,  promoting  thrift,  providing  recreation 
through  the  public  schools  and  otherwise,  studying  the  delin- 
quency problem,  caring  for  discharged  prisoners  in  cooperation 
with  the  workhouse  and  promoting  community  singing.  It  in- 
vestigated the  social  conditions  among  negroes,  with  a  view  to 
establishing  those  agencies  which  are  needed,  or  to  point  out 
the  needs  to  the  organization  already  established.  It  endeavored 
to  educate  the  negro  public  to  a  full  appreciation  of  the  possi- 

1  Cleveland  Plain  Dealer,  August  4,  1917.    .      _,      ,     .    j.„„^„,^  ^,,„  -^ 
=  An  advertisement  of  this  company  m  the  Cleveland  Advocate  was  as 

*°"°'^''  Cleveland  is  short  10,000  houses:  . 

The  city  on  Lake  Erie  is  face  to  face  with  the  problem  of  Housxng  the 
PeoTlc^"  We  have  been  on  the  job  day  in  and  day  out  and  are  pleased  to 
announce  that  we  have  just  flayed  a  tnastcr  stroke. 

Vou  mav  ask  what  is  it?    We  will  answer 

We  have  iust  secured  the  group  of  seven  apartment  houses  vvhich  are 
ranidlvnearing  completion  on  East  40th  Street  between  Central  and  Scov.lle 
Avenues  Thfef^d  four  room  suites  with  bath,  hot  water,  electric  nghts. 
«s  ranges.  heX.g  appliances,  refrigerators.  Murphy  in-a-dor  beds.  Laundry 
fust  waiting  to  be  occupied.     All  for  colored  people. 

»  Cleveland  Town  Topics.  December  22,  1V17. 


128  NEGRO    MIGRATION    Dt'RIXG    THi:    WAR 

bilitics  of  a  detinite  social  program  and  to  its  rtsponsibility  for 
seeing  that  it  is  carried  out. 

In  June,  I'.'IC.  a  call  was  issued  for  a  statewide  conference 
of  representative  whit'  and  colored  people  to  be  held  at  the 
capital  of  the  State,  Columbus,  on  July  1-',  IDKi,  to  take  steps 
toward  caring  for  the  100.000  negro  migrants  believed  to  have 
remained  in  Ohio.  Among  those  who  signed  the  call  were  J. 
Walter  Wills,  Tresident  of  Cleveland  Association  of  Colored 
Men;  Reverend  H.  C.  Bailey,  President  of  National  Associa- 
tion for  the  Advancement  of  Colored  People;  W.  S.  Scar- 
borough, President  of  Wilberforce  University;  Charles  Johnson, 
Superintendent  of  Champion  Chemical  Company.  Springfield, 
and  Edward  T.  Banks,  member  of  Charter  Commission,  Dayton.* 
The  mayors  of  Ohio  cities  named  delegates  to  the  conference. 
At  this  conference  the  Ohio  Federation  for  the  Uplift  of  the 
Colored  People  was  formed,  and  an  extensive  program  designed 
to  improve  economic  and  social  conditions  was  outlined. 
Branches  of  the  Federation  were  soon  established  at  Akron, 
Columbus,  Cleveland,  Cincinnati,  Dayton,  Piqua,  Steubenville, 
Voungstown  and  other  points. 

Reports  showing  labor,  housing,  general  welfare  and  health 
conditions  among  the  negroes  throughout  the  State  were  com- 
piled and  distributed  broadcast.  It  was  also  decided  to  send 
lecturers  through  Ohio  cities  to  visit  negro  centers  for  the 
purpose  of  instilling  within  the  race  a  desire  for  better  living 
conditions.  A  campaign  was  waged  also  to  bring  about  greater 
censorship  of  motion  pictures.  Efforts  were  made  to  have  the 
State  Council  of  National  Defense  and  the  State  and  City  Labor 
Bureaus  actively  interest  themselves  in  the  problem  of  negro 
employment." 

The  State  of  Ohio  also  undertook  an  investigation  of  the 
migration  movement.  Reports  to  the  Ohio  branch.  Council 
of  National  Defense,  indicated  a  very  serious  situation  resulting 
from  the  exodus  of  negroes.  An  investigation  at  direction  of 
Governor  Cox  was  conducted  by  the  Council  and  State  Depart- 


»  Dayton  Nnvs,  July  7.  1917. 
-Cincinnati  Enquirer.  September  u,  I9'7 


THE   SITUATION    AT    POINTS    IN    THE    MIDDLE    WEST         l-'D 

ment,  to  get  as  much  information  as  possible  concerning  the 
unprecedented  migration.    The  first  work  was  a  study  of  health 
conditions  in  several  cities  by  the  State  Department  of  Health, 
which  took  immediate  steps  to  correct  evils.    The  negroes  who 
were  coming  into  the  State  were  being  crowded  into  the  negro 
sections  of  the  various  cities  in  such  a  way  that  the  health  of 
these  communities  in  many  cases  was  being  seriously  threatened. 
The  Council  of  National  Defense  asked  the  Ohio  branch  for 
information  on  the  migration,  particularly  to  learn  if  it  had 
been  artificially  stimulated  and  accelerated  by  agencies  that  have 
paid  so  many  dollars  a  head  for  every  negro  from  the  South.' 
E>etroit,  because  of  its  importance  as  an  industrial  center, 
was  one  of  the  places  to  which  the  largest  number  of  migrants 
to  Michigan  went.    The  negro  population  of  the  city  in  1010 
was  5.741.    It  is  now  estimated  that  the  city  has  between  25,000 
and  35,000  blacks,  three-fourths  or  more  of  whom  have  come 
there  during  the  past  two  years.     As  elsewhere,  the  majority 
of  the  negroes  are  in  unskilled  occupations.    There  is,  however, 
a  considerable  number  of  skilled  and  semiskilled  workers.     De- 
troit was  formerly  a  city  where  the  negro  was  restricted  to 
a  very  few  lines  of  work. 

The  wartime  pressing  needs  of  the  industrial  enterprises  have 
caused  the  barriers  to  be  removed.  The  available  evidence  that 
Detroit  has  removed  the  barriers  from  the  employment  of  negroes 
in  many  lines  is  considerable.  There  were  calls  for  330  truckers, 
160  molders,  101)  machinists.  45  core  makers  and  for  a  number 
of  other  miscellaneous  skilled  and  semiskilled  men.  Most  of 
the  women  were  wanted  in  domestic  and  personal  service  in 
private  homes,  but  32  calls  came  from  a  garment  factory,  IS 
from  a  cigar  factory  and  10  for  ushers  in  a  theater. 

Their  wages  were  exceptionally  high  according  to  Dr.  George 
E.  Haynes'  intensive  study  of  the  returns  of  407  families.  One 
received  between  $30  and  $30  a  month;  three  received  between 
$40  and  $40,  six  received  between  $60  and  $60;  20  received 
between  $70  and  $70;  06  received  between  $80  and  $80;  6  re- 
ceived between  $00  and  $00 ;  27  received  between  $100  and  $110; 
1  Columbus  Dispatch.  August  1,  1917. 


In 
I 


i;jO  NEGRO    MIGRATION    DURING   THE   WAR 

1>1   received  between  $120  and  $l->0.  and  4  received  $140  or 
more  a  month.     There  was  a  man  workinj;  at  $0.;50  a  day. 
The  number  of  days  they  were  employc.l  a  mo.ith  could  not 
be  ascertained.     There  were   ItU    men  whose  monthly  wages 
were  doubtful  or  unknown,  two  men  were  the  owners  of  a  busi- 
ness and  five  were  unemploye.l.     Of  the  4:.  women  who  were 
the  heads  of  families.  1:5  were  doing  day's  work  at  $2  a  day 
and  one  at  $2.50  a  dav.  but  the  number  of  days  they  were 
employed  could  not  be  ascertained  and  so  the  monthly  wages 
could  not  be  calculated.     There  were  two  women  earnmg  be- 
tween $40  and  $40  a  month  and  three  earning  between  $(0 
and  $71)  a  month.     The  monthly  wages  of  2t5  were  doubtful 
or  unknown.    "  As  far  as  these  figures  are  typical  of  the  wages 
of  negro  workmen  in  Detroit."  says  Dr.  Haynes.  "they  show 
that  the  prevailing  wages  of  the  men  are  from  about  $.0  to 
$lli)  a  month;   for.  159  of  the  104  men  whose  wages  were 
ascertained  were  receiving  wages  ranging  between  these  amounts. 
The  prevailing  wage  for  women  is  about  that  of  those  doing 

day  work,  $2  a  day."  *  „.        ,       •  • 

In  Detroit,  as  in  other  places,  there  is  conflict  of  opinion  as 
to  the  value  of  the  negro  as  a  laborer.  The  survey  of  the 
migrants  there  showed  that  there  were  diverse  views  about  the 
suitability  of  negro  labor.  Mr.  Charles  M.  Culver.  General 
Manager  of  the  Detroit  Employers  Association,  thought  some 
employers  were  highly  pleased  with  negro  workmen  and  some 
were  not.     He  said: 

There  are  two  lines  of  adverse  opinion  about  the  neg'o  as  a  workman; 
first,  nine-tenths  of  the  complanus  of  employers  are  that  he  .s  too  slow. 
He  does  not  make  the  speed  that  the  routine  of  effic.ent  industry  demands. 
He  is  lacking  in  the  regularity  demanded  by  routine  of  ...dustry  day  by 
day.  Second,  the  negro  has  been  observed  to  be  disinchned  to  work  out- 
of-.loors  when  the  cold  weather  comes.  Employers  have  d.scussed  th,s 
and  have  not  found  the  negro  satisfactory  on  this  point.  Lnless  the  negroes 
overcome  this  practice  employers  will  turn  to  other  sources  of  supply  when 
their  present  extreme  needs  are  past.  Employers  must  have  a  labor  supply 
upon  which  they  can  depend  at  all  seasons-laborers  who  will  work  out-of- 
doors  winter  as  well  as  summer. 

1  Haynes.  Survey  of  the  Migrants  in  Detroit. 


THE   SITUATION    AT   POINTS   IN   THE    MIDDLE   WEST        131 

Speaking  of  the  colored  women  employed  in  the  manufacture 
of  garments  by  the  Krolick  Company,  Mr.  Cohen,  the  super- 
intendent, said  his  greatest  difficulty  was  in  overcoming  the 
timidity  of  the  girls  and  in  inducing  them  to  believe  they  can 
become  successful  operators  and  earn  good  wages. 

The  peculiar  situation  caused  by  the  sudden  increase  of  the 
city's  negro  popu  ition  was  met  by  organized  efforts  directed, 
in  the  main,  by  the  local  branch  of  the  National  League  on 
Urban  Conditions  among  Negroes,  which  here  also  took  the 
lead  in  helping  the  migrants  adjust  themselves.'     Among  the 
important  things  done  by  the  league  were  the  establishing  of  a 
vocational  bureau,  a  bureau  of  investigation  and  information  re- 
garding houses,  and  a  committee  on  recreation ;  the  inaugurating 
of  a  ten  cent  "  newcomers  "  community  dance,  which  was  held 
every  Tuesday  evening  in  a  public  school  in  the  heart  of  the 
negro  district;  the  development  of  athletic  features  for  the  im- 
migrants, and  the  organization  of  a  branch  of  "Camp  Fire 
Girls."     The  league  induced  one  of  the  largest  foundries  to 
build  low-priced  homes  for  its  negro  employes  near  the  plant. 
It  also  somewhat  relieved  the  housing  problem  by  the  purchase 
of  leases  from  the  proprietresses  of  a  number  of  disorderly 
houses  which  were  closed   by  the  police.     In  each  '•ase  the 
league  persuaded  some  manufacturer  to  take  over  the  lease,  and 
in  this  way  a  large  number  of  negro  families  were  accommo- 
dated.    It  also  kept  a  list  of  vacant  houses  and  was  surprised 
to  find  how  many  of  them  were  not  listed  by  commercial  real 

estate  agents. 

The  league  persuaded  the  police  commissioner  to  appoint  a 
special  officer,  selected  by  the  league  especu.lly  for  the  new- 
comers. It  is  his  duty  to  mingle  with  crowds  on  the  streets 
where  the  newcomers  congregate  and  urge  them  not  to  make  a 
nuisance  of  themselves  by  blocking  sidewalks,  boisterous  be- 


1  The  Urban  League  is  maintained  by  the  Associated  Chanties  and  private 
individuals  to  study  Detroit's  negro  problem  and  improve  the  condition  of 
the  city's  negroes.  Forrester  B.  Washington  is  director  in  charge  of  the 
league.  The  organisation  will  aim  to  direct  negro  sentiment  and  support 
along  lines  of  best  interests  for  Detroit.— Detroit  News.  November  6,  1916. 


132 


NEGRO    MIGRATION   DURING   THE   WAR 


haviur  ami  tlie  like.  He  was  also  provided  with  cards  direct- 
ing newcomers  to  the  office  of  the  league  when  in  need  of  em- 
ployment. The  league  itself  kept  a  close  watch  on  the  negro 
underworld  of  Detroit  and  immediately  apprised  the  police  when 
dives  were  developed  especially  to  prey  on  the  immigrant. 

The  Board  of  Commerce  cooperated  in  a  movement  for  the 
investigation  and  improvement  of  working  conditions  of  negro 
employes  in  the  various  manufacturing  plants  in  Detroit.  The 
Board  of  Health  gave  considerable  assistance  in  obtaining  better 
and  more  sanitary  housing  conditions.  The  aid  of  several 
mothers'  clubs  among  the  colored  women  was  enlisted  to  instruct 
immigrant  mothers  in  the  proper  diet  and  clothing  for  children 
in  a  northern  climate.  From  the  outset,  the  aim  was  not  only 
to  put  each  migrant  in  a  decent  home  but  also  to  connect  him 
with  some  church.  Many  times  the  churches  reciprocated  with 
considerable  material  as  well  as  spiritual  assistance. 

Valued  cooperation  was  given  by  the  Young  Negroes'  Progres- 
sive Association,  a  body  of  thirty-four  young  colored  men. 
most  of  whom  attended  the  various  schools  and  colleges  about 
Detroit.  They  have  been  the  finest  possible  agents  in  the  de- 
velopment of  all  the  different  activities.  In  the  adjustment 
of  the  negro,  a  definite  place  must  be  given  to  the  development 
of  industrial  efficiency.  In  pursuance  of  this  object  the  league, 
with  the  assistance  of  the  Progressive  .Association,  carried  on 
a  movement.*  Representatives  of  the  two  organizations  visit 
the  various  factories  where  large  numbers  of  negroes  are  em- 
ployed and  talk  to  them  during  the  noon  hour  on  the  necessity 
of  creating  the  best  possible  impression  at  the  present  time  so 


» Two  surveys  of  the  migrants  in  Detrcit  were  made.  One  was  under  the 
auspices  of  the  negro  committee  of  the  Home  Missions'  Council  of  the 
Churches  of  Christ  in  .\merica  and  was  published  under  the  title,  "  Negro 
Newcomers  in  Detroit."  This  survey  investigated  mdustrial  opportunities, 
housing  and  recreation  facilities,  and  the  work  which  the  churches  were 
doing  and  should  do  for  Detroit's  newcomers. 

The  Church  Extension  Committee  of  the  Detroit  Presbytery  made  a  survey 
of  the  ncKro  problem  in  Detroit.  This  survey  showed  that  the  negro  popula- 
tion of  the  city  has  grown  from  5,000  in  1910  to  21.000  in  1917.  The  negro 
churches  of  the  city  nre  utterly  inadequate  to  take  care  of  the  religious  needs 
of  the  race  here,  it  was  shown. 


THE  SITUATION    AT   POINTS   IN    THE    MIDDLE   WEST         133 

that  they  may  be  certain  of  retaining  their  jobs  in  the  future. 
At  the  same  time,  the  speakers  circulate  these  cards : 


WHY  HE  FAILED 

He  watched  the  clock. 
He  was  always  behindhand. 
He  asked  too  many  questions. 
He  wasn't  ready  for  the  next  step. 
He  did  not  put  his  heart  in  his  work. 
He  learned  nothing  from  his  blunders. 
He  was  contented  to  be  a  second-rater. 

He  didn't  learn  that  the  best  part  of  his  salary  was  not  in  his  pay  envelope. 

—Success. 


CHAPTER  XII 

The  Situation  at  Points  in  the  East 

No  less  conspicuous  as  attractions  to  the  negroes  of  the 
Soutl.  were  the  various  industries  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania. 
Although  not  so  closely  connected  with  the  Black  Belt  of  the 
South  as  are  so  many  of  the  industrial  centers  of  the  West. 
Pennsylvania  nevertheless  was  sought  by  many  of  these  migrants 
I)ecause  of  the  long  accepted  theory  that  this  commonwealth 
maintains  a  favorable  attitude  toward  persons  of  color.  It  drew 
upon  this  population  too  because  of  the  very  urgent  need  for 
workers  in  its  numerous  industries  during  the  lalwr  crisis  result- 
ing from  the  falling  off  of  the  foreign  immigration.  Wlien. 
moreover,  manufacturmg  establishments  of  the  State  multiplied 
as  elsewhere  because  of  the  demand  for  the  manufacture  of 
munitions  of  war.  this  need  became  more  urgent  than  ever. 

According  to  the  census  of  1910,  the  State  of  Pennsylvania 
had  li):5.!)19  inhabitants  of  negro  blood,  84,4.')9  of  whom  lived 
in  the  city  of  Philadelphia.  During  the  recent  rush  to  that 
commonwealth,  however,  investigators  are  now  of  the  opinion 
that  the  negro  population  of  that  State  is  hardly  less  than 
;K)0,()00.  These  migrants  were,  of  course,  not  all  settled  in 
the  city  of  Philadelphia.  Here  we  see  another  example  of  a 
rerouting  point,  a  place  where  the  migration  broke  bulk,  scat- 
tering itself  into  the  various  industrial  communities  desiring 
labor.  Among  the  other  cities  and  towns  receiving  this  popu- 
kition  were  practically  all  of  those  within  a  radius  of  about 
one  hundred  miles  of  Philadelphia,  such  as  Lancaster.  Potts- 
ville,  York,  Altoona,  Harrisburg  and  certain  other  towns  lying 
without  the  State,  as  in  the  case  of  Wilmington,  Delaware,  n 
site  of  a  large  munitions  plant.  In  some  cases  the  negro  pop- 
ulation in  these  towns  increased  more  than  100  per  cent  in  a  tew 

days. 

134 


THE   SITUATION    AT    POINTS    IN    THt    EAST 


135 


The  chief  (actors  in  tht  hringiiiK  in  of  tht-c  ncRroes  from 
the  South  were  the  leading  railroads  hke  the  Erie  and  I'ennsyl- 
vania.  iJuring  the  shortage  of  labor,  these  corporations  found 
it  impossible  to  keep  their  systems  in  repair.  In  this  situation, 
they,  like  the  smaller  concerns  further  west,  sent  labor  agents 
to  the  South  to  induce  negroes  to  supply  this  demand.  Tn- 
fortunately.  however,  so  many  of  the  negroes  who  had  their 
transportation  paid  by  these  firms  counted  it  more  profitable  to 
leave  their  employ  immediately  after  arriving,  because  of  the 
unusually  high  wages  offered  by  smaller  industries  in  just  as 
urgent  need  of  labor.  Instead  of  supplying  their  own  de- 
mand, therefore,  the  railroads  were  benefiting  their  neigh- 
bors, 

A  better  idea  as  to  the  extent  of  the  congestion  made  possible 
by  this  influx  of  newcomers  may  be  obtained  from  the  comments 
of  observers  in  that  section.  Traveling  men  tell  us  of  the 
crowded  houses  and  congested  streets  which  marked  the  places 
wherever  these  migrants  stopped.  Housing  facilities  being  in- 
adequate, temporary  structures  were  quickly  built  and  when 
these  did  not  suffice,  in  the  case  of  railroads,  ordinary  tents 
and  box  cars  were  used  to  shelter  the  new  laborers.  Owing 
to  these  unsatisfactory  conditions  and  the  inability  of  employers 
to  ameliorate  them,  the  migration  was  to  some  extent  discour- 
aged, and  in  a  few  cases  a  number  of  the  migrants  returned 
to  their  homes  in  the  South,  so  that  the  number  that  actually 
came  into  the  State  is  much  less  than  it  would  have  been,  had 
it  been  possible  to  receive  and  adequately  accommodate  the 
negroes  in  their  new  homes. 

In  Philadelphia  the  situation  at  first  became  unusually  critical. 
Being  closer  to  the  Southland  than  most  of  the  large  cities 
of  the  country,  the  people  of  Philadelphia  are  much  more  preju- 
diced against  the  negro  than  those  in  some  other  northern  cities. 
It  was  necessary,  therefore,  upon  their  arrival  in  that  city  for 
them  to  crowd  into  the  district  largely  restricted  to  negroes, 
givmg  rise  to  such  unhap[>y  conditions  as  to  jeopardize  the  peace 
and  health  of  the  community.  Numbers  of  these  migrants  died 
from  exposure  during  the  first  winter,  and  others  who  died 


130 


NEtiltO    MIGRATION    DLRING    THE    WAR 


because  of  their  inability  to  stand  the  northern  climate  made 
the  situation  seem  unusually  alarming.  It  was  necessary,  there- 
fore, to  organize  social  workers  t(  i  minister  to  the  peculiar  needs 
of  these  newcomers.  Appeals  were  made  in  their  behalf  and  a 
number  of  prominent  citizens  felt  that  it  was  necessary  to  urge 
them  to  remain  in  the  South. 

The  solution  of  this  problem  was  rendered  a  little  more 
difficult  for  the  reason  that  here,  as  in  many  other  centers  in 
the  North,  the  newcomers  were  not  welcomed  by  their  own 
race.  Philadelphia  had  for  years  been  pointed  to  as  having  a 
respectable,  thrifty  and  prosperous  colored  population,  enjoying 
the  good  will  and  the  cooperation  of  the  best  white  people  in 
the  community.  These  northern  negroes  felt  then  that  the  com- 
ing of  their  brethren  in  the  rough  did  them  a  decided  injury 
in  giving  rise  to  a  race  problem  in  a  northern  community  where 
it  had  not  before  figured.  This  unusual  influx  of  other  members 
of  the  race  greatly  stimulated  that  tendency  to  segregate  negro 
children  in  the  schools,  to  the  deep  regret  of  the  older  citizens 
of  Philadelphia.  Other  social  privileges  as  in  theaters,  churches 
and  the  like,  formerly  allowed  the  negro  citizens  of  that  city, 
tended  gradually  to  be  withdrawn. 

The  negro  migrants  were  not  altogether  innocent.  Many 
of  them  used  their  liberty  in  their  northern  home  as  a  stum- 
bling block.  Receiving  there  such  high  wages  which  they  could 
not  judiciously  spend,  the  unwise  of  their  group  used  this  un- 
usually large  income  to  their  own  detriment  and  to  that  of  the 
community.  It  was  indeed  difficult  to  restrain  a  poor  man 
who  never  had  had  a  few  dollars,  when  just  arrived  from  a 
section  of  the  country  where  he  had  not  only  been  poor  but 
restricted  even  in  expending  what  income  he  received.  Many 
of  them  received  $6.  $7  and  in  a  few  cases  $8  to  $10  a  day. 
They  frequented  saloons  and  dens  of  vice,  thereby  increas- 
ing the  number  of  police  court  cases  and  greatly  staining  the 
record  of  the  negroes  in  that  city.  A  number  of  fracases,  there- 
fore, broke  out  from  time  to  time,  growing  in  intensity  in 
keeping  with  the  condition  to  which  the  community,  unaccus- 
tomed to  negro  neighljors,  saw  fit  to  manifest  its  displeasure. 


THE   SITUATION   AT   POINTS   IN   THE   EAST 


13; 


This  finally  culminated  in  the  recent  riots  in  Philadelphia  in 
which  a  number  of  blacks  and  whites  were  killed. 

Feeling  that  they  did  not  have  the  support  of  the  officers 
of  the  law,  the  negroes  of  the  city  organized  a  Colored  Pro- 
tective Association  and  raised  a  fund  for  the  prosecution  of 
policemen  and  others  who  might  aid  mobs.  The  method  of 
strengthening  itself  is  to  organize  the  churches  of  the  city  with 
a  view  to  securing  the  cooperation  of  every  negro  there.  To 
advance  this  work,  a  large  sum  has  been  raised.  Other  efforts 
of  this  sort  in  behalf  of  the  negroes  in  Philadelphia  have  been 
made  by  the  National  Association  for  the  Advancement  of 
Colored  People  and  the  Armstrong  Association  in  cooperation 
with  the  National  League  on  Urban  Conditions  among  Negroes. 

Social  workers  in  general  soon  found  it  necessary  to  address 
themselves  to  the  task  of  readjusting  these  migrants.*  The 
Philadelphia  Academy  of  Medicine,  composed  of  negro  physi- 
cians, dentists  and  druggists,  put  into  effect  measures  calculated 
to  meet  requirements  for  housing,  sanitation,  medical  attention 
and  education.  Systematic  medical  inspections  were  given,  and 
projects  for  the  erection  of  houses  and  the  adaptation  of  ex- 
isting buildings  for  lodgings  are  under  way.  Eighty  negro 
physicians  of  the  city  collected  information  which  took  the 
form  of  a  weekly  report  of  the  Bureau  of  Health.  Real  estate 
dealers  were  asked  to  submit  lists  of  every  house  immediately 
available  for  the  relief  of  the  overcrowded  buildings  then  occu- 
pied by  the  negroes  and  to  provide  hundreds  of  new  ones,  cheaply 
but  substantially  constructed.  Stereopticon  lectures  and  talks 
were  given  on  an  increasing  scale  in  all  the  negro  churches 
telling  the  new  arrivals  how  to  care  for  themselves  in  the  Phil- 
adelphia climate,  how  to  avoid  colds,  which  lead  to  pneumonia 
and  tuberculosis,  the  two  most  common  diseases  among  them, 
and  other  useful  information  in  general. 

The  Interdenominational  Ministerial  Union  of  Philadelphia, 
embracing  all  the  negro  ministers  of  the  city,  drew  up  certain 
resolutions  setting  forth  their  views  relative  to  the  migration 
and  making  some  suggestions  concerning  the  situation  in  Phila- 

*Thc  Philadelphia  North  American,  February  2,  1917. 


las 


NEGRO    MIGRATION    DURING   THE   WAR 


delphia.  They  pledged  themselves  to  look  after  the  comfort 
of  the  migrants  in  every  way  possible,  urged  them  to  join  the 
churches  and  other  organizations  for  improvement,  and  send 
their  children  to  the  schools,  and  to  utilize  the  libraries,  night 
schools  and  other  agencies  of  culture  which  were  denied  them 
in  the  South.  These  ministers  urged  them  also  to  work  regu- 
larly, and  give  their  best  services  to  their  employers  regardless 
of  pay.  remembering  always  that  the  race  is  on  trial  in  them ; 
that  they  save  their  money,  and  purchase  homes  and  become 
a  part  of  the  substantial  citizenry  as  soon  as  possible/ 

A  Negro  Migration  Committee  was  formed,  composed  of 
eight  workers  from  social  agencies  and  charitable  societies,  to 
provide  suitable  housing  for  negro  families  arriving  in  this  city 
and  to  aid  them  in  getting  work.  Each  member  of  the  com- 
mittee is  to  work  through  the  organization  he  represents  and 
be  responsible  for  one  specific  phase  of  the  problem.* 

Notwithstanding  the  efforts  that  were  made  to  improve  the 
housing  conditions,  the  situation  in  this  respect  continued  to 
grow  worse.  In  December  of  1917,  representatives  of  the  vari- 
ous social  agencies  and  of  the  corporations  employing  large 
numbers  of  negroes  met  in  a  conference  on  the  housing  situation. 
"  All  the  questions  involved  in  the  reasons  for  the  colored  people 
coming  north  and  the  problem  of  housing  and  caring  for  them 
were  seriously  discussed." 

Some  representatives  of  the  corporations  asserted  that  the  men  were  not 
reliable  and  dependable,  going  from  place  to  place  and  only  working  a  few 
days  in  each  week.  The  social  service  workers  stated  that  the  reason  for 
this  is  that  there  are  not  a  sufficient  number  of  houses  in  which  to  take  care 
of  the  men  and  their  families,  and  that  the  districts  in  which  they  lived 
were  shamefully  crowded.  According  to  these  workers  the  only  way  in  which 
the  men  can  be  made  satisfied  is  by  providing  more  homes  for  them  in  sanitary 
and  wholesome  quarters.  After  thoroughly  considering  the  problem  a  per- 
manent committee  was  appointed  to  deal  with  the  problem  in  all  its  aspects.* 

One  of  the  most  effective  agencies  for  dealing  with  the  situa- 
tion created  by  thousands  of  negroes  migrating  north  was  the 

>  Resolutions  of  the  Interdenominational  Union. 
*  Philadelphia  Inquirer.  March  2,  1917. 
'  The  Living  Church,  December  22,  1917. 


THE  SITUATION   AT   POINTS   IN    THE   EAST  139 

Armstrong  Association.  This  association  gave  special  atten- 
tion to  stabilizing  negro  labor  and  to  improving  the  housing 
conditions.  The  association  brought  before  several  corporations 
conditions  of  housing  and  recreation  which  would  enable  them 
to  retain  their  workers.  They  provided  a  negro  welfare  worker 
for  the  American  International  Shipbuilding  Company,  to  attend 
to  the  stabilizing  of  negro  labor.  The  association  is  perfecting 
plans  for  better  housing  of  negro  workers  and  the  providing 
of  recreation  centers,  such  as  are  now  enjoyed  in  virtually  every 
city  by  the  white  workers.  The  association  obtained  the  coopera- 
tion of  a  number  of  large  industrial  firms  and  corporations  in 
this  city,  to  aid  it  in  the  employment  of  competent  negro  welfare 
workers  to  help  adjust  existing  conditions,  making  for  greater 
efficiency  and  reliability  among  the  negro  race. 

The  demand  for  labor  by  the  many  industrial  plants  located 
in  New  Jersey  caused  that  State  xo  get  a  very  large  proportion 
of  the  negro  migrants  and  as  a  result  to  have,  in  acute  form, 
the  problem  of  housing  conditions  and  the  other  problems  in- 
cident to  a  large  number  of  migrants  being  within  her  borders. 
To  assist  in  caring  for  the  situation  a  Negro  Welfare  League 
was  organized  with  branches  at  various  points  in  the  State. 

Writing  on  the  situation  in  New  Jersey,  a  contributor  of  The 
Survey,  for  February  17,  1917,  states: 

The  native  negro  residents  of  the  city  and  suburban  towns  have  been  kind 
and  generous  in  helping  the  southern  stranger.  They  have  collected  money 
to  send  numbers  back  home,  and  v  hen  the  bitter  cold  weather  began  they 
collected  and  distributed  thousands  of  garments.  Resident  negroes  have  also 
taken  hundreds  of  newcomers  into  their  own  homes  until  rooms  could  be 
found  for  them.  But,  while  different  churches  and  kind  hearted  people 
had  been  most  active  in  helping  individually,  there  was  no  concerted  move- 
ment to  bring  all  these  tjrces  together  until  the  organization  of  the  Negro 
Welfare  League  of  New  Jersey  Industries  of  New  Jersey  have  utterly 
failed  to  provide  the  housing  which  would  enable  their  negro  help  to  live 
decently  and  in  enough  comfort  so  that  while  growing  accustomed  to  their 
unusual  work,  they  might  be  stimulated  to  become  useful  and  efficient. 

In  the  last  two  weeks  the  Negro  Welfare  Committee,  with  the  help  of 
an  investigation  of  120  self-supporting  families,  all  of  whom  were  found 
in  the  worst  sectioi  s  of  the  city,  showed  that  166  adults— only  twenty  of 
whom  are  over  forty  years  of  age— and  134  children,  a  total  of  300  souls, 
are  all  crowded   into  insanitary  dark  quarters,  averaging   four  and   two- 


140 


NEGRO   MIGRATION   DURING  THE   WAR 


sevenths  persons  to  a  room.  These  fifty-three  families  paid  a  total  rent 
per  month  of  $415.50,  an  average  of  $7.66.  The  average  wage  of  these 
people  is  $2.60  a  day.  In  not  one  of  the  120  families  was  there  a  wage  earner 
making  the  maximum  wage  of  $J  and  $4  a  day.  Some  of  the  reports  in 
brief  were:  "Wife  and  children  living  over  a  stable.  Husband  earning  $11 
a  week."  Three  families  in  four  rooms,  "a  little  house  not  fit  for  a  chicken 
coop."  "A  sorry  looking  house  for  so  much  money,  $15  a  month;  doors 
off  the  hinges,  water  in  the  cellar,  two  families  in  five  roomi."  "  Indescrib- 
able; so  dark  they  must  keep  the  light  burning  all  day."  "This  family  lives 
in  three  rooms  on  the  second  floor  of  a  rickety  frame  house,  built  on  the 
side  of  a  hill,  so  that  the  back  rooms  are  just  above  the  ground.  The  entrance 
is  in  a  muddy,  di'orderly  yard  and  is  through  a  tunnel  in  the  house.  The 
rooms  are  hard  to  heat  because  of  cracks.  A  boy  of  eighteen  was  in  bed 
breathing  heavily,  very  ill  with  pneumonia,  delirious  at  times."  Unused  to 
city  life,  crowded  into  dark  rooms,  their  clothing  and  household  utensils 
unsuitable,  the  stoves  they  have  brought  being  all  too  small  to  heat  even  the 
tiny  rooms  they  have  procured  (the  instalment  houses  .ire  charging  from 
$20  to  $30  for  these  stoves),  shivering  with  the  cold  from  which  they  do 
iiot  know  how  to  protect  themselves,  it  is  small  wonder  that  illness  has 
overtaken  large  numbers.' 

Newark,  Now  Jersey,  was  one  of  the  places  to  which  the 
migrants  first  came  in  large  numbers.  William  H.  Maxwell, 
President  of  the  Negro  Forward  Movement,  of  that  city,  issued 
an  appeal  for  the  protection  from  the  unscrupulous  of  southern 
negroes  migrating  to  Newark.  He  declared  that  they  were  being 
made  to  work  for  lower  wages  than  they  had  been  promised 
and  that  storekeepers  and  dealers  were  charging  them  high 
prices  for  worthless  goods.  The  Newark  Presbytery  took  up 
the  matter  of  proper  housing  and  clothmg  of  the  migrants  who 
were  unaccustomed  to  the  rigors  of  a  northern  climate. 

On  September  23,  1917,  a  State  conference  of  negroes  was 
held  in  Newark  to  devise  ways  and  means  to  cooperate  with 
the  State  authorities  in  looking  after  the  welfare  of  migrants. 
Soon  after  this  conference,  it  was  decided  to  establish  a  State 
bureau,  "  for  the  welfare  and  employment  of  the  colored  citi- 
zens in  the  State  and  particularly  to  look  after  the  housing, 
employment  and  education  of  the  citizens  migrating  from  the 
South."  On  October  12,  Governor  Edge  had  a  number  of 
-social  workers  among  the  negroes  to  meet  him,  "  to  discuss  the 
several  perplexing  and  grave  economic,   industrial  and  social 

1  Cotton  Pickers  in  Northern  Cities,  The  Survey,  February  17,  1917. 


THE   SITUATION   AT   POINTS   IN   THE   EAST 


141 


problems  arising  from  the  steady  influx  of  the  negro  migrants 
from  the  South."  The  conference  was  held  in  the  Assembly 
room  at  the  State  House.  Col.  Lewis  T.  Bryant,  Commissioner 
of  Labor,  presided.  After  many  reports  and  discussions  of 
work  accomplished  in  various  parts  of  the  State,  the  body  voted 
to  accept  the  proposed  Negro  Welfare  Bureau,  under  the  De- 
partment of  Labor.  A  fund  of  $7,500  is  available  for  the  com- 
ing year's  maintenance  and  work.  The  scope  of  this  bureau's 
work  was  employment,  housing,  social  welfare  and  readjustment, 
education  and  legal  fairness.  This  bureau  acted  as  a  welfare 
clearing  house  for  all  social  agencies  working  for  the  betterment 
of  the  colored  people. 

At  the  next  session  of  the  legislature,  a  bill  was  passed, 
February,  1918,  establishing  in  the  Department  of  Labor  the 
Negro  Welfare  Employment  Bureau.  According  to  a  report 
of  the  work  of  the  Negro  Welfare  Bureau  made  public  in  April, 
1918,  considerable  progress  in  the  work  of  improving  both  the 
migrating  negroes  to  New  Jersey  from  the  South  as  well  as  the 
members  of  the  race  generally  who  have  been  in  this  State  for 
some  time  has  been  made.  With  the  possible  exception  of  Salem 
and  Hudson  counties,  the  sheriffs  of  the  State  report  no  in- 
crease of  criminality  from  the  migration  of  negroes  from  the 
South.  At  Pennsgrove  in  Salem  county,  where  the  Du  Pont 
powder  plants  are  located,  Sheriff  William  T.  Eiffin  reports 
that  considering  the  increase  in  population  there  has  been  an 
increase  in  crime  in  that  county,  but  that  the  situation  is  well 
in  hand  and  diminishing  to  normal.* 

Hartford  was  one  of  the  industrial  centers  to  which  large 
numbers  of  the  migrating  negroes  went.  The  housing  problem 
became  acute  and  the  chief  efforts  of  those  endeavoring  to 
better  the  conditions  of  migrants  was  along  this  line.  Religious, 
civic  and  commercial  Iwdies  gave  attention  to  the  amelioration 
of  this  problem.^  The  problem  of  housing  negroes  who  were 
coming  in  greater  numbers  each  year  to  Hartford  was  taken 
up  briefly  by  speakers  at  the  12Sth  annual  meeting  of  the  Hart- 


iTfcc  Courier  (Camden,  N.  J.),  April  30,  1918. 
"  The  Hartford  CouranI,  September  19.  1917. 


142 


NEGRO   MIGRATION   DURING   THE   WAR 


ford  Baptist  Association  at  the  Shiloh  Baptist  Church.  It  was 
decided  to  bring  the  housing  problem  before  the  attention  of 
the  Chamber  of  Commerce,  which,  it  was  said,  some  time  before 
had  appointed  a  committee  to  investigate  it.  Negroes  complained 
that  they  were  obliged  to  pay  higher  rent  than  white  folks  and 
that  they  were  obliged  by  landlords  to  live  together  in  cramped 
quarters  that  were,  by  reason  of  the  crowding,  insanitary.  They 
said  also  that  the  living  of  several  families  almost  as  one  family 
leads  to  a  breaking  down  of  the  moral  and  religious  ideals.* 
Conditions  in  Hartford  resulting  from  the  bringing  of  more 
than  2,500  negroes  from  the  South  were  discussed  at  the  fall 
meeting  of  the  Confidential  Exchange  with  a  view  to  preparing 
for  these  new  arrivals. 

At  the  June,  1917,  meeting  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce, 
a  committee  was  appointed  from  that  body  to  investigate  hous- 
ing conditions  and  to  cooperate  with  other  agencies  in  improv- 
ing them.  The  committee  met  frequently  through  the  summer 
with  the  housing  committee  of  the  Civic  Club,  in  an  endeavor 
to  ascertain  the  facts  bearing  upon  the  present  situation.  It 
had  before  it  leading  colored  citizens,  ministers,  business  men 
and  industrial  workers,  some  of  whom  have  lived  here  for  years 
and  others  who  have  recently  arrived  from  the  South.  It  was 
discovered  that  there  was,  at  that  time,  plenty  of  work  and  at 
good  wages,  but  the  universal  complaint  was  the  lack  of  homes 
suitable  for  proper  living  and  the  extortionate  prices  asked  for 
rents.  Negroes  in  Hartford  were  suffering  from  the  cupidity 
of  landlords.  They  were  obliged  to  live  in  poor  tenements 
and  under  unhealthful  conditions  because  accommodations  of 
another  class  were  withheld  from  them.  For  such  inferior 
accommodations  they  were  charged  outrageous  rents,  because 
selfish  property  owners  knowing  that  negroes  must  live  charged 
all  the  traffic  would  bear.  Partial  relief  was  obtained  from  the 
immediate  need  by  the  purchase  of  buildings  already  erected, 
and  homes  for  them  were  later  built.  It  appeared  that  for 
the  first  time  in  many  years  Hartford  had  a  race  problem  on 
its  hands. 


'  The  Hartford  Post,  October  9.  1917. 


CHAPTER  XIII 
Remedies  for  Relief  by  National  Organizations 

The  sudden  influx  of  thousands  of  negro  workers  to  northern 
industrial  centers  created  and  intensified  problems.  More  com- 
prehensive and  definite  plans  for  aiding  the  migrants  were, 
therefore,  worked  out  and  more  effective  methods  of  help  insti- 
tuted during  1917.  A  conference  on  negro  migration  was  held 
in  New  York  City  under  the  auspices  of  the  National  League 
on  Urban  Conditions  among  Negroes,  January  29-31,  1918. 
Among  those  attending  the  conference  were  representatives  of 
capital,  of  labor,  of  housing  conditions,  the  Immigration  Bu- 
reau of  Social  Uplift  Work  for  Negroes  and  others.  The 
subjects  considered  were  causes  and  consequences  of  the  migra- 
tion, present  conditions  of  those  migrating  and  what  is  to  be 
done  to  aid  in  the  negroes'  adjustment  to  their  new  environ- 
ment. 

The  conference  was  of  the  impression  that  negroes,  then 
migrating  to  the  North  in  unprecedented  numbers,  were  pre- 
paring to  come  in  larger  numbers  in  the  spring.  It,  therefore, 
recommended  that  wherever  possible,  whether  in  the  city  or 
rural  community,  organizations  be  formed  to  foster  good  feeling 
between  the  two  races,  to  study  the  health,  school  and  work 
needs  of  the  negro  population,  to  develop  agencies  and  stimu- 
late activities  to  meet  those  needs,  by  training  and  health  pro- 
tection to  increase  the  industrial  efficiency  of  negroes  and  to 
encourage  a  fairer  attitude  toward  negro  labor,  especially  in 
regard  to  hours,  conditions  and  regularity  of  work  and  stand- 
ard of  wages,  and  to  increase  the  respect  for  law  and  the  orderly 
administration  of  justice.  It  further  recommended  that  similar 
organizations  be  formed  or  existing  organizations  urged  to  take 
action  which,  in  addition  to  the  purposes  already  mentioned. 

143 


144 


NEGRft    MIGRATION    DITRING    THE    WAR 


Should  seek  to  instruct  the  negro  migrants  as  to  the  dress,  habits 
and  methods  of  living  necessary  to  withstand  the  rigors  of  the 
northern  climate;  as  to  efficiency,  regularity  and  application  de- 
manded of  workers  in  the  North;  as  to  the  danger  of  dealing 
or  going  with  unscrupulous  or  vicious  persons  and  of  frequent- 
•ng  questionable  resorts;  as  to  the  opportunities  oflfered  by  the 
towns  and  cities  of  the  North  in  schools,  hospitals,  police  pro- 
tection and  employment,  and  as  to  facilities  offered  by  the 
church.  Y.  M.  C.  A.  and  other  organizations. 

The  various   religious  denominations  among  negroes   were 
profoundly  affected  by  the  migration  movement.     The  sudden 
moving  of  thousands  of  communicants  from  one  section  of  the 
country  to  the  other  caused  many  churches  in  the  South  to 
become  disorganized  and  in  some  instances  to  be  broken  up 
In  the  North  the  facilities  of  particu.ar  denominations  were  in- 
adequate to  accommodate  the  new  communicants  who  would  wor- 
ship m  the  church  of  their  particular  faith.     In  some  instances 
It  was  necessary  to  hold  double  services  in  order  that  all  who 
wished  to  attend  the  services  might  be  accommodated.    A  writer 
m  the  SoHthivcstcm  Christian  Advocate,  the  organ  of  the  negro 
members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  said:  "The  move- 
ment of  the  negroes  by  the  thousands  from  the  South  to  the 
North  raises  a  many  sided  question.     The  missionary  view  is 
the  logical  view  for  the  church,  and  that  side  of  the  question 
talis  logically  upon  her  hands  for  solution."  » 

The  Boards  of  Missions  of  white  denominations  carrying 
on  work  among  negroes  made  studies  of  the  migration  move- 
ment. Dr.  (Jilbert  N.  Brink.  Secretary  for  Education  of  the 
American  Baptist  Home  Mission  Society,  issued  a  pamphlet 
on  .\cgro  Migration,  What  does  it  Mcvm  ?  "  ^  "  TIic  Invasion 
from  Di.xie"  was  the  title  of  a  circular  issued  on  the  migration 
by  the  Board  of  Home  Missions  and  Church  Extension  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  In  this  circular  two  questions 
were  asked  witii  reference  to  the  migrants.  "  What  are  you 
going  to  do   for  them?"  and  "How  may  we  best  serve  this 

^SmOizi-cstcrn  Christian  Advocate,  .\cw  Orleans,  La. 


REMEDIES    FOR   RELIEF   BV    NATIONAL  ORGANIZATIONS      145 

most  pressing  need  of  tlie  present  time? "    The  circular  further 
said: 


The  problem  as  seen  from  the  viewpoint  of  the  .Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  is  twofold.  First,  iomehow  to  conserve  the  work  we  have  already 
done  in  the  South  where  the  migration  is  IcavinK.  Second,  to  provide 
religious  opportunities  for  those  people  who  have  come  from  our  own 
churches  of  the  South  as  well  as  those  unreached  by  church  influences, 
so  that  at  the  beginning  of  their  new  life  in  the  North  they  may  all  have 
the  influence  of  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  to  shape  and  mold  their  future. 

The  Home  Missions  Council,  which  is  composed  of  repre- 
sentatives from  the  boards  doing  missionary  work  in  the  United 
States,  through  its  committee  on  negro  work  had  a  survey 
made  of  the  migrants  in  Detroit.  The  results  of  this  survey 
were  published  under  the  title  "  Negro  Newcomers  in  Detroit." 
Detroit  was  selected  because  of  the  large  numbers  of  negroes, 
who  had  been  attracted  to  that  city,  and  also  because  it  was  be- 
lieved that  the  conditions  in  Detroit,  although  changing,  were 
sufficiently  typical  of  other  northern  industrial  centers  as  to 
give  a  fairly  accurate  understanding  of  this  modern  phase  of 
the  negro  problem,  which  might  have  acute  and  serious  aspects 
if  not  speedily  cared  for  by  an  enlightened  judgment,  and  the 
quickened  conscience  of  the  Christian  church. 

The  African  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  through  its  annual 
conferences,  its  Bishops'  Council  and  its  Missionary  Depart- 
ment, undertook  to  meet  the  migration  situation  as  it  aflfected 
and  imposed  duties  on  that  denomination.  The  Bishops'  Coun- 
cil recommended  to  all  the  departments  of  the  church  that,  to 
meet  the  needs  of  the  church  as  to  the  expenditure  of  money 
in  the  home  field  of  the  North  and  Northwest  for  the  benefit 
of  "our  migrating  people."  that  they  should  do  the  best  they 
could.  "  in  assisting  in  the  establishment  of  missions  and  church 
houses  for  our  beloved  people,  consistent  with  their  obligations 
already  provided  for  by  law  and  by  the  action  of  the  Missionary 
Board."  >  A  circular  containing  the  following  questions  was 
sent  out  to  the  A.  M.  E.  churches  throughout  the  North. 

>  Report  of  Bishop's  Council,  A.M.E.  Church,  1917. 


h 


146 


NEGRO    MIGRATION   DURING   THE    WAR 


How  many  persons,  to  your  knowledge,  have  come  from  the  South  into 

your  vicinity  during  the  past  year? 
In  what  sections  of  your  city  are  they  located? 
To  what  extent  are  they  African  Methodists? 
From  what  section  of  the  South  have  they  come? 
What  reasons  do  they  give  for  coming  to  the  North  ? 
To  what  extent  have  they  found  employment?    At  what,  and  what  is  the 

average  wage  paid? 
Have  you  a  Lookout  Committee  in  your  church  to  seek  these  people?    If 

not.  what  organized  effort  is  being  put  forth  to  church  them? 
Has  any  special  mission  work  been  started  among  or  for  our  southern 

brethren,  in  your  vicinity?    If  so,  what  and  where? 
What  number  of  people   from  the  South  have  united  with  your  church 

during  the  past  year? 
How  do  they  affiliate  with  your  people? 
What  is  the  attitude  of  your  members  toward  them  ? 
So  far  as  you  have  seen,  is  the  better  plan,  where  the  numbers  warrant 

it,  to  establish  a  distinct  mission   for  them  or  bring  them  into  the 

already  established  churches? 

Bishop  R.  A.  Carter,  of  the  Colored  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  after  an  extended  trip  north  in  the  interest  of  the 
work  of  his  denomination  for  the  migrants,  published  in  the 
official  organ  of  his  church  a  description  of  the  situation  as 
he  found  it,  and  what  the  Colored  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
should  do  to  assist  in  meeting  the  needs  of  the  situation.  He 
said : 

I  have  just  returned  from  an  extended  trip  through  the  great  Northwest, 
having  visited  St.  Louis.  Chicago.  Gary.  Milwaukee.  Detroit,  Cleveland! 
Pittsburgh.  Clarksburg  and  West  Virginia  .  .  .  Heretofore  the  few  church 
houses  in  those  cities  have  been  sufficient  for  the  colored  people  who  were 
there.  Since  the  migration  of  our  people  in  such  great  numbers,  the  church 
facilities  are  alarmingly  inadequate.  It  is  necessary  to  hold  two  services  at 
the  same  time  in  many  churches  and  then  hundreds  are  turned  away  for 
lack  of  room.  It  is  pathetic  to  have  to  tell  people  who  aUend  one  service 
not  to  return  to  the  next  so  that  a  new  crowd  may  be  accommodated.  Yet 
that  is  just  what  must  be  done  in  many  instances  up  that  way  now.  There 
must  be  more  churches  established  in  all  the  large  cities  of  the  North  and 
East  and  Northwest  for  our  people  or  serious  results  will  obtain  in  the 
future. 


He  considered  the  opportunity  and  duty  of  the  C.  M.  E. 
Church  as  great  and  urgent.  He  recommended  the  purchase 
of  vacant  white  churches  offered  for  sale  and  the  transfer  of 


REMEDIES   FOR    RELIEF   BY    NATIONAL  ORGANIZATIONS     147 

some  of  the  best  pastors.  He  urged  that  there  be  launched 
a  movement  for  a  great  centenary  rally  for  $500,000  with 
which  to  take  advantage  of  the  great  opportunity  which  con- 
fronted the  race  in  the  North. 

Before  the  migration  movement  the  strength  of  the  negroes 
in  labor  unions  was  largely  in  the  South.  In  this  section  they 
were  found  in  considerable  numbers  in  the  carpenters,  brick- 
layers, plasterers,  longshoremen  and  miners  unions.  In  the 
North,  however,  they  were  not  generally  connected  with  the 
unions  mainly  for  the  reason  that,  excepting  the  hod  carriers, 
teamsters,  asphalt  and  cement  workers  and  a  few  other  organi- 
zations of  unskilled  laborers,  they  were  not  found  in  any  occu- 
pation in  sufficient  numbers  to  necessitate  being  seriously  con- 
sidered by  organized  labor.  The  necessities  of  the  industrial 
situation  created  by  the  war,  however,  brought  thousands  of 
negroes  north  and  into  trades  and  occupations  in  which  hitherto 
they  had  not  been  found  at  all  or  only  in  negligible  numbers. 
A  change  in  attitude,  therefore,  was  necessary.  At  the  1910 
annual  meeting  of  the  National  Council  of  the  American  Fed- 
eration of  Labor  a  resolution  was  unanimously  passed  inviting 
negroes  and  all  other  races  into  the  Labor  Federation.  The 
officers  of  the  Federation  were  instructed  to  take  measures 
to  see  that  negro  workmen  as  well  as  workmen  of  other  races 
be  brought  into  the  union.  In  1913  this  action  was  reaffirmed 
with  the  assertion  that 

Many  years  ago  the  American  Federation  of  Labor  declared  for  the 
thorough  organization  of  all  working  people  without  regard  to  sex,  religion, 
race,  politics  or  nationality ;  that  many  organizations  affiliated  with  the  Ameri- 
can Federation  of  Labor  have  within  their  membership  negro  workmen  with 
all  other  workers  of  their  trade,  and  the  American  Federation  of  Labor  has 
made  and  is  making  every  effort  within  its  power  for  the  organization  of 
these  workmen.^ 


At  its  1916  annual  convention  held  in  November  at  Balti- 
more, the  American  Federation  of  Labor  considered  the  ques- 
tion of  negro  migration.     The  question  was  brought  formally 

J  Report  of  Proceedings,  American  Federation  of  Labor,  annual  session. 


14S 


NECRU    MIGRATI()>f    DirRlNG   THE   WAR 


Ik- fore  the  convention  by  the  Ohio  State  Federation  ot  La!)or 
and  the  Cleveland  Federation  of  Labor  reciting  that :  "  The 
investigation  of  such  emigration  and  inipo.tation  of  wgroes  in 
the  State  of  Ohio  had  demonstrated  to  the  satisfaction  ot  lalwr 
leaders  in  that  State  that  they  were  In-ing  brought  n^.rtli  for 
the  purpose  of  filling  the  places  of  union  men  demanding  better 
conditions,  as  in  the  case  of  freight  handlers."  Believing  that 
"  the  conditions  that  prevailed  in  Ohio  might  apply  in  all  north- 
ern States."  the  president  and  Executive  Council  of  the  Fed- 
eration were  instructed  to  begin  a  movement  looking  towards 
the  organization  of  negroes  in  the  southern  States."  * 

At  the  1917  convention  of  the  American  Federation  of  Labor 
held  at  BuflFalo.  New  York,  the  question  of  negro  labor  was 
again  considered.  It  was  observed  that  the  colored  laborers 
and  helpers  throughout  the  southeastern  district  were  not  as 
familiar  with  the  labor  movement  as  they  sho'.:!d  be.  especially 
upon  the  different  railroads  of  the  southeastern  territory;  and 
that  there  were  fifteen  different  railroads  in  the  district  for 
which  there  were  only  four  colored  locals.  Feeling  that  a  negro 
organizer,  because  of  his  racial  and  social  relations  among  his 
people,  could  accomplish  much  in  organizing  the  forces  into 
unions,  the  National  Convention  appointed  a  negro  railroad 
man  as  organizer  for  the  territory  as  above  mentioned.  An- 
other set  of  resolutions,  relating  to  the  general  condition  of 
negroes  in  the  United  States,  making  suggestions  to  secure  the 
cooperation  of  the  American  people  and  the  national  govern- 
ment in  an  endeavor  to  have  the  nations  4)articipating  in  the 
coming  world  peace  conference  agree  upon  a  plan  to  turn 
over  the  African  continent  or  parts  thereof  to  the  African  race 
and  those  descendants  of  said  race  who  live  in  .America  and 
desire  to  return  'o  Africa,  and  thus  enable  the  black  race  t(j 
work  out  its  own  destiny  (jn  an  equality  with  other  peoples 
of  the  earth,  was  referred  to  a  committee.  The  report  was. 
"  Your  committee  can  not  be  responsible  for  and  rejects  the 
statements  contained  in  the  resolution,  but,  inasmtich  as  por- 

>  Report  of  Proceedings,   American   Federation  of  Labor,  annual  session 
Ivio. 


REMKDIKS    K»k    KKI.IKF    BV    NATIONAL   (»K(. AMZATIONS      14i» 

tions  ol  it  refer  lu  ilic  urgaiiizati<jn  of  negro  workers,  the  com- 
mittee ricDiniMetuIs  that  that  portion  be  referred  tu  the  Executive 
council."  ' 

At  the  annual  meeting  of  the  National  League  on  Urban 
Comlitidus  aniciig  Negroes,  held  in  New  York  City.  January 
i*l>-;il,  l!tl,s,  it~M)hitions  relating  to  labor  unions  and  the  negroes 
were  adopted  and  a  committee  was  appt)intc<l  to  place  the  reso- 
lutions l)ef<)re  the  executive  committee  of  the  American  Fed- 
eration (.;  Laix)r.    The  resolutions  adopted  were  as  follows: 

F\>r  the  first  lime  in  ilu-  histotN  of  America,  the  negro  working  man  is  in 
large  minil,ers  KiltniK  a  clianic  tci  offer  his  service  at  a  lair  wage  for  various 
kinds  of  work  for  which  he  is  fitted.  Phis  opportunity,  however,  has  come 
as  a  result  of  conditions  over  which  neither  he,  nor  those  offering  him  the 
chance,  have  control. 

In  the  city  of  New  York,  on  the  .Mst  day  of  January,  1918.  we  in  con- 
ference assembled  under  the  auspices  of  the  .\ationa!  Uague  on  I'rban 
Conditions  among  Negroes,  while  in  no  way  seeking  to  condone  the  existence 
of  the  worldwide  war  which  has  been  forced  upon  our  beloved  country,  wish 
to  express  our  gratitude  for  the  industrial  changes  wrought  and  to  record 
our  prayer  that  the  benefits  thus  far  derived  by  the  negro  may  continue  and 
so  enlarge  as  to  embrace  full  and  fair  opportunity  in  all  the  walks  of  life. 

I.  We  wish  especially  to  address  ourselves  to  the  American  Federation 
of  Labor  which  at  its  recent  convention  in  BufTalo,  New  York,  voiced  sound 
democratic  principles  in  its  attitude  toward  negro  labor. 

We  would  ask  the  American  Federation  of  Labor,  in  organizing  negroes 
in  the  various  trades,  to  include:  (1)  skilled  as  well  as  unskilled  workmen. 
(2)  northern  as  well  as  southern  workmen,  (3)  government  as  well  as 
civilian  employs,  (4)  women  as  well  as  men  workers. 

We  would  have  negro  labor  handled  by  the  American  Federation  of  Labor 
in  the  same  manner  as  white  labor;  (1)  when  workmen  are  returning  to 
work  after  a  successful  strike ;  (2)  when  shops  are  declared  "  open "  or 
"closed";   (J)   when  union  workers  apply  for  jobs. 

We  would  have  these  assurances  pledged  not  with  word  only,  but  by 
deeds— pledged  by  an  increasing  number  of  examples  of  groups  of  negro 
workmen  given  a  "  square  deal." 

With  these  accomplished,  we  pledge  ourselves  to  urge  negro  working  men 
to  seek  the  advantages  of  sympathetic  cooperation  and  understanding  be- 
tween men  who  work. 

II.  We  would  also  address  ourselves  to  the  Labor  Bureau  of  the  United 
States  Government. 

In  our  national  effort  to  speed  up  production  of  articles  essential  to  the 

'  Report  of   Proceedings,   American   Federation  of  Labor,  annual  session. 


150 


NEGRO    MIGRATION   DURING   THE   WAR 


conduct  of  the  war  as  well  as  the  production  of  other  goods,  let  us  not  lose 

sight  of  our  duty  to  our  country  in  quantity  production  by  an  unrcasona' ; 

prejudice  in  many  quarters  against  the  use  of  negro  labor.    Negro  work. 

are  loyal  and  patriotic,  cheerful  and  versatile.    In  some  sections  there  is  aii 

oversupply  of  such  labor ;  in  other  sections  a  shortage. 
We  would  urge  the  appointment  of  one  or  two  competent  negroes  in 

the  Uepartment  of  Labor  to  serve  as  assistants  in  each  of  the  bureaus  in 

distributing  negro  labor  to  meet  war  and  peace  needs. 
HI.   We  would  urge  negro  workmen  to  remain  cheerful  and  hopeful  in 

work:  to  be  persevering  in  their  efforts  to  improve  in  regularity,  punctuality 

and  efficiency,  and  to  be  quick  to  grasp  all  opportunities  for  training  both 
themselves  and  their  children.     Success  lies  in  these  directions. 

IV.  We  would  impress  upon  employers  the  fact  that  the  efficiency  of  their 
employes  during  work  hours  depends  very  largely  on  the  use  made  of  the 
non-workmg  hours.  Most  of  the  complaints  against  negro  labor  can  be 
removed  if  proper  housing,  decent  amusement,  fair  wages  and  proper  treat- 
ment are  provided.^ 

These  resolutions  were  presented  to  the  executive  officers 
of  the  American  Federation  of  Labor  on  February  12,  1918. 
by  a  committee  composed  of  E.  K.  Jones,  Director  of  National 
League  on  Urban  Conditions  among  Negroes,  Robert  R.  Mo- 
ton,  Principal  of  Tuskegee  Institute,  Archibald  H.  Grimke, 
Thomas  Jesse  Jones,  specialist  in  the  United  States  Bureau  of 
Education,  J.  R.  Shillady.  Secretary  of  the  National  Associa- 
tion for  the  Advancement  of  Colored  People,  Fred  R.  Moore 
editor  of  the  New  York  Age,  George  W.  Harris,  editor  of  the 
New  York  News,  and  Emmett  J.  Scott,  special  assistant  to  the 
Secretary  of  War.  The  committee  requested  of  the  Executive 
Council  that  a  committee  be  appointed  by  the  American  Fed- 
eration of  Labor  to  confer  with  a  committee  representing  the 
interests  of  the  negroes.    This  request  was  granted. 

At  the  American  Federation  of  Labor  annual  convention 
held  at  St.  Paul,  Minnesota,  in  June.  1918,  the  problem  of 
negro  workers  and  organized  labor  again  received  considerable 
attention.  B.  S.  Lancaster,  a  negro  delegate  to  the  convention 
from  Mobile,  Alabama,  oflfered  a  resolution  asking  for  the 
appointment  of  a  negro  to  organize  negroes  not  now  affiliated 
with  unions  in  the  shipbuilding  trades.     Another   resolution 

^^>  Minutes  of  Session.  National  League  on  Urban  Conditions.  January  29-31. 


^ 


V 


REMEDIES  FOR   RELIEF  BY  NATIONAL  ORGANIZATIONS      151 

was  to  the  effect  that  negro  porters,  cooks,  waiters  and  wait- 
resses, section  hands  and  all  negro  railway  employes  to  be 
organized.  The  press  reports  of  the  convention  under  date 
of  June  12,  said : 

Dr.  R.  R.  Moton,  Principal  of  the  Tuskegee  Institute,  and  J.  R.  Shillady.  of 
the  National  Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Colored  People,  are 
authors  of  a  communication  asking  for  closer  cooperation  between  white 
and  colored  workers.  They  ask  that  Mr.  Gompers  prepare  a  statement  on 
his  stand  toward  negro  labor,  and  charge  that  some  unions  discriminate 
against  colored  workers.  They  urge  consideration  of  revision  of  union 
charters  to  permit  negroes  to  become  members.  The  communication  was 
referred.* 


These  efforts  were  not  without  some  result,  for  sentiment 
began  to  change.  In  its  August,  1918,  issue  the  editor  of  the 
Labor  :Vews  of  Detroit,  Michigan,  said : 

The  time  has  arrived  for  the  American  labor  movement  to  face  squarely 
the  fact  that  the  negro  is  a  big  factor  in  our  industrial  life,  and  that  he  must 
be  taken  into  account  in  the  adjustment  of  our  economic  differences.  Never 
again  can  the  negro  be  ignored.  Time  and  time  again  the  selfish  masters 
of  mdustry  have  used  him  to  ba»  -  your  organization*  to  pieces,  and.  in- 
stead of  trying  to  win  him  over,  u  have  savagely  fought  him,  because 
they  used  him  as  a  strikebreaker.  But  the  negro  must  be  made  to  see  the 
value  of  organization  to  himself,  and  he  must  be  incorporated  into  and 
made  a  part  of  the  great  labor  movement.  It  is  a  stupid  policy  to  try  to 
keep  him  out.  Let  us  work  to  shift  him  from  his  present  unhappy  position, 
where  he  is  despised  by  the  big  business  element,  notwithstanding  his  utility 
as  a  strikebreaker,  and  hated  by  unionists  for  his  loyalty  to  the  open  shop 
element.    Unionism  must  welcome  the  negro  to  its  ranks. 

» Report  of  M.  N,  Work  on  migration  to  the  North. 


CHAPTER  XIV 


Public  Opinion  Regarding  the  Migration 

It  was  to  be  expected  that  a  movement  which  so  profoundly 
affected  the  social  and  economic  life  of  the  South  would  be 
widely  discussed,  and  that  the  resulting  discussions,  wherein 
were  set  forth  at  length  the  views  of  whites  and  negroes,  would 
throw  much  light  upon  the  conditions  existing  prior  to  the 
movement.  How  the  South  viewed  this  taking  away  of  a  large 
part  of  her  labor  supply  was  stated  in  letters  to  the  newspapers 
and  in  newspaper  editorials.  There  were  two  views  as  to  the 
effect  of  the  migration  on  the  South.  One  view  held  that  the 
movement  would  benefit  the  South  in  that  the  negro  population 
would  be  more  evenly  distributed  over  the  entire  country  and 
as  a  result  the  race  problem  would  be  more  truly  national.  The 
other  view  was  that  negro  labor  was  a  necessity  for  the  South, 
and  the  drawing  of  a  considerable  part  of  this  labor  north 
was  seriously  detrimental  to  the  South's  economic  interests. 

The  following  are  examples  of  expressions  by  those  holding 
the  view  that  the  migration  would  benefit  the  South: 

The  New  Orleans  Times  Picayune  said : 

Despite  the  attitude  of  certain  extreme  papers  of  the  North  that  there 
was  a  broad  conspiracy  existing  here  to  prevent  the  negroes  from  leaving, 
the  records  show  that  many  southern  papers  and  people  welcomed  the 
movement,  believing  that  it  would  have  a  beneficial  eflfect  on  the  South  by 
removing  the  negro  majontiis  in  many  districts  and  in  at  least  two  States, 
South  Carolina  and  Mississippi.  The  problems  of  negro  majorities  is 
rapidly  working  itself  out.  Louisiana,  a  State  in  which  the  negro  was  more 
numerous  a  few  decades  ago,  is  white  today  by  several  hundred  thousand, 
and  will  have  a  million  more  whites  by  the  next  census.  South  Carolina 
and  Mississippi  expect  to  report  white  majorities  in  the  next  ten  years  as 
they  are  drifting  rapidly  in  that  direction,  and  negro  emigration  will  help 
this  condition  along. 

During  the  first  months  of  this  negro  movement  northward,  a  number  of 
South   Carolina  papers,   led  by  the   Columbia  Stale,  instead  of  expressing 

152 


PUBLIC   OPINION   REGARDING   THE   MIGRATION  153 

apprehensK>n  over  these  departures,  showed  satisfaction  that  the  State  was 
gettmg  nd  of  .ts  excess  of  negroes.  At  the  Southern  Commercial  Conares 
m  a  sessjon  at  Xorfolk,  Judge  Francis  D.  Winston,  of  NoXcarolma  ex 
pressed  th.s  same  view  of  the  situation  in  a  resolution  wh^h  dedar  ^ihat  " 
The  complete  .ndustr.al,  intellectual  and  social  development  of  the  south-' 
ern  States  can  be  secured  only  when  the  negro  becomes  a  part  of  the 
c.t.«nsh.p  of  our  s.ster  States,  and  that  we  will  encourage  all  movement! 

.firs^rrt^ri::':^^^^^ 

out  the  country  as  the  question  involved  can  then  be  better  hand  ed     No 
encouragement  to  the  negroes  to  leave  the  South  will  be  he  d  out  butth^rc 


A  comment  of  the  Nashville  Banner  was: 

From  a  logical  point  of  view  that  looks  beyond  immediate  emergencies 
he    outhern   wh.tes  should  encourage  negro  emigration  to  the  XorT"  ot' 

ernor  of  Arkansas  to  pardon  negro  convicts  on  condition  that  they  ro  to 
Massachusetts  to  live,  but  to  relieve  the  South  of  the  entire  burden  and 
al  the  brunt  of  the  race  problem,  and  make  room  for  and  to  create  greater 
nducements  for  wh.te  immigration  that  the  South  very  much  needs  Some 
thousands  of  negroes  going  north  every  year  and  a  corresponding  numbe 
of  whites  commg  south  would  affect  a  distribution  of  the  races  that  w^S 

theTe'^pUu;"::;"^";'  ^1  •"=''  »*  ^^^^  -^^  '-^»  -^uM  ...l  Zl^rl^ 
the  race  problem  all  sectional  aspects,  which  is  and  has  always  been  the 
chief  cause  of  sectional  ill  feeling.  And  it  would  in  the  end^tc  the  Sol 
a  homogeneous  citizenship.  ^  °"'" 

The  Vicksburg  Herald'  was  of  the  orinion  that: 

Adjustments  and  compensation  will,  we  have  faith,  come.     The  northern 
dri  t  as  It  continues,  and  carries  thousands  with  it.  will  lowernegro  con 
gestion   in   certain   sections  of  the   South.     Such   a  change.   restraTned   and 
Kraduated  against   violent   progression,   promises   ultimate  benett      I „   tEe 

Mississippi  ,s  a  ready  .  .  .  producing  a  wholesome  farm  diversification  an3 
economic  stimulation.  Then,  too,  a  more  equitable  distribution  otT  sons 
of  Ham  will  teach  the  Caucasians  of  :he  northern  States  that  wherever  there 

whicir.r  '"^"T'^'r  *"'  '*  ^^  "«  ^^^^"^''"^-^  -^Ite  man-  burden- 
which  they  are  destined  to  share. 

'  AS^s?'i9!T916"""  ^''"^'""''  December  IS,  1916. 


1^^ 


^i 


ir.4 


NEGRO    MIGRATION   DURING   THE   WAR 


Among  those  holding  the  view  that  the  South  needed  the 
negro  was  the  Memphis  Commercial  Appeal.'  Concerning  this 
an  editorial  in  this  paper  said  that  not  only  does  the  South  need 
the  negro,  but  that  he  should  be  encouraged  to  stay. 

The  enormous  demand  for  labor  and  the  changing  conditions  brought 
about  by  the  boll  weevil  in  certain  parts  of  the  South  have  caused  an 
exodus  of  negroes  which  may  be  serious.  Great  colonics  of  negroes  have 
gone  north  to  work  in  factories,  in  packing  houses  and  on  the  railroads. 

Some  of  our  friends  think  that  these  negroes  are  being  taken  north  for 
the  purpose  of  voting  them  in  November.  Such  is  not  the  case.  The 
restriction  of  immigration  because  of  the  European  war  and  the  tremendous 
manufacturing  and  industrial  activity  in  the  North  have  resulted  in  a 
scarcity  of  labor.  The  negro  is  a  good  track  hand.  He  is  also  a  good 
man  around  packing  houses,  and  in  certain  elementary  trades  he  is  useful. 

The  South  needs  every  able-bodied  negro  that  is  now  south  of  the  line, 
and  every  negro  who  remains  south  of  the  line  will  in  the  end  do  better 
than  he  will  do  in  the  North. 

The  negro  has  been  a  tremendous  factor  in  the  development  of  agricul- 
ture and  all  the  commerce  of  the  South.  But  in  the  meantime,  if  we  are 
to  kecD  him  here,  and  if  we  are  to  have  the  best  use  of  his  business  capacity, 
there  is  a  certain  duty  that  the  white  man  himself  must  discharge  in  his 
relation  to  the  negro. 

The  business  of  lynching  negroes  is  bad,  and  we  believe  it  is  declining, 
but  the  worst  thing  is  that  the  wrong  negro  is  often  lynched.  The  negro 
should  be  protected  in  all  his  legal  rights.  Furthermore,  in  some  com- 
munities, some  white  people  make  money  at  the  expense  of  the  negro's 
lack  of  intelligence.  Unfair  dealing  with  the  negro  is  not  a  custom  in  the 
South.  It  is  not  the  rule,  but  here  and  there  the  taking  of  enormous 
profits  from  the  labor  of  the  negro  is  known  to  exist. 

It  should  be  so  arranged  that  the  negro  in  the  city  does  not  have  to 
raise  his  childien  in  the  alleys  and  in  the  streets.  Liquor  in  the  cities 
has  been  a  great  curse  to  negroes.  Millions  of  dollars  have  been  mate  by 
no  account  white  people  selling  no  account  liquor  to  negroes  and  thus 
making  a  whole  lot  of  negroes  no  account.  Happily  this  business  is  being 
extinguished. 

The  negroes  who  are  in  the  South  should  be  encouraged  to  remain 
there,  and  those  white  people  who  are  in  the  boll  weevil  territory  should 
make  every  sacrifice  to  keep  their  negro  labor  until  there  can  be  adjust- 
ments to  the  new  and  quickly  prosperous  conditions  that  will  later  exist. 

Among  those  holding  the  same  view  that  the  South  needed 
the  negro  was  the  Georgia  Enquirer  Sun  of  Columbus,  Georgia.' 

>  October  S,  1916. 
''  December  2,  1916. 


PUBLIC    OPINION    REGARDING    THE    MIGRATION  155 

An  editorial  in  this  paper  said  that  not  only  does  the  South  need 
the  negro  but  that  he  should  be  encouraged  to  stay 

n..?'tf  "^""'"'  -^"^  ^"''''"  ^'"Pha^'^^^d  the  fact  that  the  South 
needs  the  negro: 

With  the  certainty  that  a  number  will  differ  with  us.  we  state  that  th. 

the   immigration   of   the   same  dU.      7         ,        f"*""*  ^°^  P-^ohibiting 
the  North  and  Eas    rich    o^years    the"  «         .'  u""'"'   ^"   '""''"« 

and  ouf  mer7han'sto  see  that  1  r''"^**"  '"""'"=«  *'">  ""'  »»"'H°'ds 

negro  and  Su^^  w^'h  i^^HceiThar^n- °'  '""'' ^^  '"'*''  *''"  '"'^ 
charged  him.  We  should  se\thaT»i,^  ""  "  *'"  "  ^'^  '"»««« 
full  and  fai  wage  for  Ll-I^^r  ','"''"»*""  °^*'  ''"''  P*^  «°  ^im  a 
wages  Offered  rjh  J  Vsi:  '  t/ sL'S     Te  '.HTattrJ;!*''^  *"' 

When  we  do  these  thingj.  "w?;^,-  ott^i^^dT  nLV.^r'- 

In  connection  with  the  discussion  of  the  need  of  the  South 
for  the  negro,  the  duty  of  the  South  to  the  negro  was  poin^ej 
out.    According  to  the  Co/i*w6w(S.C.)5-/a/^.«         *' P°'"*«^ 

If  the  southern  white  people  would  hav.  ♦»,-  - 
treat  the  negroes  justly.     If  thr,  refuse  to  H       ""T-  T""'  ''"'^  •""« 
negro  labor  is   in   the  unw  11  ngL7  of  the   N  1     ""  ^""^  °^  ''«P'"« 
and  we  fear  that  .hi.  ».„.,.  \    *   ^°^^   '"   '"at   them  justly 

*  December  22,  1916. 


Ci 


i:.n 


nec.ro  migration  during  the  war 


disruption  uf  our  industrial  establishment  by  causing  negroes  to  understand 
that  they  are  safe  where  they  arc. 

The  Macon  Telegraph  said  of  negro  labor:  "If  we  lose  it,  we  go  bank- 
rupt.' Yet  this  same  paper  only  a  few  months  before  was  advocating  the 
sending  of  100,000  negroes  into  Mexico  to  conquer  the  "  mongrel  breed," 
and  at  the  same  time  rid  the  South  of  that  many  worthless  negroes. 

The  black  man  has  no  quarrel  with  the  Mexican,  but,  on  the  other  hand, 
he  certainly  has  a  disagreement  with  conditions  as  they  affect  him  in  the 
South,  and,  when  he  desires  to  improve  those  conditions  by  getting  away 
from  them,  he  must  be  checked.  Plenty  of  "  sound  advice  "  is  given  him 
about  staying  in  the  South  among  his  friends  and  under  the  same  old  con- 
ditions. The  bugaboo  of  cold  weather  is  put  before  him  to  frighten  him, 
of  race  antagonism  and  sundry  other  things,  but  not  one  word  about 
better  treatment  is  suggested  to  lighten  the  burden,  no  sane  and  reasonable 
remedy  offered. 

The  black  labor  is  the  best  labor  the  South  can  get,  no  other  would  work 
long  under  the  same  conditions.  It  has  been  faithful  and  loyal,  but  that 
loyalty  can  be  undermined,  witness  the  exodus. 


3 


A  letter  published  in  the  Montgomery  Advertiser^  truly  says: 

And  the  negro  will  not  come  back  once  he  leaves  the  South. 

The  World  War  is  bringing  many  changes  and  a  chance  for  the  negro 
to  enter  broader  fields.  With  the  "  tempting  bait "  of  higher  wages,  shorter 
hours,  better  schools  and  better  treatment,  all  the  preachments  of  the  so- 
called  race  leaders  will  fall  on  deaf  ears. 

It  is  probable  that  the  "well  informed  negro,"  who  told  the  Birmingham 
editor  that  it  was  good  schools  that  were  drawing  the  negro,  could  have 
given  other  and  more  potent  reasons  had  he  been  so  minded.  He  could 
have  told  how  deep  down  in  the  negro's  heart  he  has  no  love  for  pro- 
scription, segregation,  lynchings,  the  petty  persecutions  and  cruelties  against 
him.  nor  for  the  arresting  of  "  fifty  niggers  for  what  three  of  'em  done," 
even  if  it  takes  all  of  this  to  uphold  the  scheme  of  civilization. 

From  Savannah  alone,  three  thousand  negroes  went,  from  sixteen  year 
old  boys  to  men  of  sixty  years.  There  must  be  something  radically  wrong 
when  aged  negroes  are  willing  to  make  the  change.  There  is  greater  unrest 
among  negroes  than  those  in  high  places  are  aware. 

Let  the  Advertiser  speak  out  in  the  same  masterful  way,  with  the  same 
punch  and  pep  for  a  square  deal  for  the  negro,  that  it  does  for  democracy 
and  the  right  for  local  self-government. 


What  was  the  attitude  of  the  northern  whites  toward  the 
migration?  .Although  the  North  had  been  accustomed  to  the 
adding  of  a  million  foreigners  annually  to  her  population,  these 
newcomers  were  white  people  and  as  such  did  not  occasion  the 


1  The  Advertiser,  .Montgomery.  .Alabama.  September  21,  1917. 


PL'BLIC   OPINION   REGARDING   THE    MIGRATION 


157 


comment  or  create  just  the  problems  which  a  large  influx  of 
negroes  created.  The  migration  of  the  negro  attracted  a  great 
deal  of  public  attention.  A  wide  and  extended  discussion  of 
the  movement  was  carried  on  through  the  press.  The  attitude 
which  the  white  people  assumed  toward  the  migrants  was  ex- 
pressed in  this  discussion. 

The  New  Republic  of  New  York  City  '  pointed  out  that  the 
movement  gave  the  negro  a  chance  and  that  he,  the  South  and 
the  nation,  would  in  the  end,  all  be  gainers. 

When  Austria  found  the  Serbian  reply  inadmissible,  the  American  negro, 
who  had  never  heard  of  Count  Berchtold,  and  did  not  care  whether  Bosnia 
belonged  to  Austria  or  Siam,  got  his  "chance."  It  was  not  the  sort  of 
chance  that  came  to  the  makers  of  munitions— a  chance  to  make  millions. 
It  was  merely  a  widening  of  a  very  narrow  foothold  on  life,  a  slightly 
better  opportunity  to  make  his  way  in  the  industrial  world  of  America. 

In  the  beginning  such  a  migration  of  negroes  would  increase  the  present 
race  friction  in  the  North.  Within  certain  limits  a  racial  minority  is 
unpopular  directly  in  proportion  to  its  numbers.  Only  as  it  increases  to 
the  point  where  political  and  economic  power  makes  it  formidable,  does 
It  overcome  opposition.  The  negro's  competition  for  jobs  and  homes 
will  probably  exacerbate  relations.  As  the  negroes  increased  in  numbers 
they  would  not  only  seek  menial  and  unskilled  work,  but  also  strive  to  enter 
skilled  trades  where  they  would  meet  with  antagonism  of  white  workers. 
Moret)ver,  the  negroes  would  l)e  forced  to  seek  homes  in  what  are  now 
regarded  as  "  white "  neighborhoods,  and  a  clamor  would  be  raised  at  each 
new  extension  of  their  dwelling  area. 

The  antidote  to  persecution,  however,  is  power,  and  if  the  northern 
negroes  are  more  numerous  and  more  urgently  needed  in  our  industrial 
life,  they  could  protect  themselves  from  the  worst  forms  of  discrimination 
If  by  1930  the  negro  population  of  the  North  has  become  three  millions 
instead  of  the  fraction  over  one  million  which  it  is  today,  and  if  these 
three  millions  live  better  and  save  and  spend  more  per  capita  than  today 
they  will  profit  more  than  they  will  lose  from  their  greater  numbers' 
Their  custom  will  be  more  valuable,  their  political  power  greater  and  as 
wage  earners,  they  will  be  strong  enough  to  strike.  Once  they  have  com- 
pletely filled  a  new  neighborhood,  opposition  will  cease.  Moreover  the 
mdustrial  competition  with  white  workmen,  while  severe  at  certain  crucial 
points,  should  not  permanently  be  dangerous,  since  the  very  conditions  which 
bring  the  negro  north  also  make  for  higher  wages  for  the  white  workers. 
W  hat  the  white  wage  earner  desires  is  not  an  industrial  exploitation  of  the 
negro,  but  the  maintenance  of  the  white  man's  superiority  of  position. 

For  the  nation  as  a  whole,  such  a  gradual  dissemination  of  the  negroes 
among  all  the  States  would  ultimately  be  of  real  advantage.    If  at  the  end 

>July  1,  1917. 


ir)S 


NEdRO    MIGRATION    DURING  THE   WAR 


of  lialf  a  century,  only  50  or  (tO  per  cent,  instead  of  89  per  cent  of  the 
iiegrtu-s,  were  congregated  in  the  southern  States,  it  would  end  the  fear  of 
race  domination,  and  take  from  the  South  many  of  its  peculiar  characteris- 
tics, which  today  hamper  development.  To  the  negro  it  would  be  of  even 
more  obvious  benefit.  The  race  would  be  far  better  educated,  considerably 
richer,  and  with  greater  political  power.  Success  for  the  negroes  of  the 
North  would  mean  better  conditions  for  southern  negroes.  For  if  the 
southern  negro,  finding  political  and  social  conditions  intolerable,  were 
able  to  emigrate  to  the  North,  he  would  have  in  his  hand  a  weapon  as 
effective  as  any  he  could  find  in  the  ballot  box. 

The  Oshkosh.  Wisconsin,  Daily  Nortlmrstcrn  felt  that  a  large 
influx  of  colored  people  would  bring  to  the  North  the  .same 
perplexing  problems  that  long  have  disturbed  the  people  of 
the  southern  States. 

This,  in  fact,  is  the  most  serious  aspect  of  this  reported  migration  of 
southern  blacks,  and  it  is  suggestive  of  no  end  of  trouble  for  some  of 
the  northern  States,  which  heretofore  have  regarded  the  so-called  negro 
problem  as  something  which  little  concerns  them.  The  South  has  struggled 
for  years  to  solve  this  problem,  with  its  many  phases  and  angles,  and 
never  yet  has  found  a  satisfactory  solution.  Should  the  same  baffling 
questions  be  forced  on  the  North  it  would  give  the  people  something  to 
think  about,  and  many  will  gain  a  new  appreciation  of  the  perplexities  of 
the  southern  whites.  And  the  necessity  of  facing  this  new  problem  may 
come  to  the  North  much  sooner  than  generally  is  expected. 

The  Springfield.  Massachusetts.  Union^  was  also  of  the 
opinion  that: 


The  North  has  been  strong  for  the  negro,  considered  as  a  political 
entity,  but  our  communities  are  manifestly  not  desirous  of  supplying  a 
field  for  him  to  expand  and  adapt  himself  to  the  social  structure,  and  their 
leaders  experience  more  difficulty  in  this  regard  than  do  their  co-laborers 
in  the  South,  with  its  vast  colored  population.  This  in  itself  furnished 
food   for  careful   thought. 

In  a  way,  there  is  justification  for  a  disinclination  on  the  part  of  New 
Englanders  to  add  a  large  negro  element  to  their  number.  We  have  enough 
of  a  problem  already  to  absorb  and  educate  the  large  alien  element  that 
has  come  into  our  midst  from  the  Old  World.  Our  duty  towarl  our 
colored  residents  should  not  go  unrecognized,  and  the  first  step  toward  a 
just  and  fair  disposal  of  related  problems  is  to  admit  frankly  that  a  rather 
strict  color  line  is  being  drawn  among  us. 

•July  16,  1916. 


PUBLIC   OPINION    REGARDING   THE    MIGRATION 


1511 


The  Beloit,  Wisconsin,  Ncu's^  held  that  the  migration  had 
brought  the  negro  problem  north  and  made  it  national : 

The  negro  problem  has  moved  north.  Rather,  the  negro  problem  has 
spread  from  south  to  north;  and  beside  it  in  the  South  is  appearing  a 
stranger  to  that  clime — the  labor  problem. 

It's  a  double  development  brought  about  by  the  war  in  Europe,  and  the 
nation  has  not  yet  realized  its  significance.  Within  a  few  years,  experts 
predict  the  negro  population  of  the  North  will  be  tripled.  It's  your  prob- 
lem, then,  or  it  will  be  when  the  negro  moves  next  door. 

Italians  and  Greeks  are  giving  way  to  the  negroes  in  the  section  gangs 
along  northern  railroads,  as  you  can  see  from  the  train  windows,  and  as 
labor  agents  admit.  Northern  cities  that  had  only  small  colored  popula- 
tions are  finding  their  "white"  sections  invaded  by  negro  families,  strangers 
to  the  town.  Many  cities  are  in  for  the  experience  that  has  befallen  all 
communities  on  the  edge  of  the  North  and  South— gradual  encroachment 
of  colored  folks  on  territory  occupied  by  whites;  depreciation  in  realty 
values  and  lowering  of  rents,  and  finally,  movmg  of  the  white  families 
to  other  sections,  leaving  the  districts  in  possession  of  colored  families 
with  a  small  sprinkling  of  whites. 

This  means  racial  resentment— for  the  white  family  that  moves  to  escape 
negro  proximity  always  carries,  justly  or  not,  a  prejudice  against  the  black 
race.     It  hits  your  pocket  too. 

Negroes  will  enter  trades  now  monopolized  by  white  men,  at  first,  per- 
haps, as  strike  breakers;  later,  as  non-union  competitors,  working  for 
smaller  wages.  It  will  take  some  time,  probably,  to  get  them  into  the 
labor  unions'  way  of  thinking. 

Politicians,  both  good  and  bad,  will  seek  the  ballot  of  a  large  new  element, 
which  will  vote  largely  in  the  lump.  Now,  what  will  be  the  effect  in  the 
southern  States?  Already  the  offers  of  better  jobs  further  north  have 
caused  strikes  among  southern  negroes — something  almost  unheard  of 
The  South  gets  no  immigration,  but  the  negro  has  been  an  ever  present 
source  of  cheap  labor.  With  the  black  tide  setting  north,  the  southern 
negro,  formerly  a  docile  tool,  is  demanding  better  pay,  better  food  and 
better  treatment.  And  no  longer  can  the  South  refuse  to  give  it  to  him. 
I'or  when  the  South  refuses  the  negro  moves  away.  It's  a  national  problem 
now,  instead  of  a  sectional  problem.    And  it  has  got  to  be  solved. 

The  New  York  Globe '  said  that : 

For  more  than  a  year  a  migration  of  men  and  women  of  color  to  north- 
ern States  has  been  going  on  that  has  already  deprived  thousands  of 
southern  farmers  of  cheap  labor.  And  the  movement  bids  fair  to  con- 
tinue. That  it  will  have  both  good  and  bad  cflFects  is  obvious.  It  will 
distribute  the  negro  population  more  evenly  throughout  the  States  and  thus 
tend  to  diminish  race  friction.     But  unless  there  is  a  change  of  spirit  on 

'  August  25.  1916. 
Mtily  31,  1916. 


100 


NEGRO   MIGRATION    DURING   THE    WAR 


the  part  of  northern  union,,  it  wll  increaw  the  danger  of  labor  troubles 
in  case  of  industrial  depression. 

The  Pittsburgh  Dispatch »  held  that  the  migration  was  help- 
ing  the  negro.     It  was  of  the  opinion  that: 

This    movement    eastward    and    westward   of    unskilled    negro    labor    will 
both   .hrectly   and   mdirect.y   help  the   negro.     The  younger  element,   those 

fr„r      Tii"'.         T"  "''"'"«  '"  ""^  *''^''°'»-  *'"  ^  constantly  emerging 
from    nnskil  e.l    to   ,he   semiskilled   classes,   with   a   consequent   increase   in 
their  pay  rolls  and  a  betterment  in  their  methods  of  living 
A   decidedly   In^tter   treatment   of  the  negro,  both   in   the   North   and   the 

limie^       A  fr*  °"\  °'  '.*"  ^'"  ""♦  '*"  **'"'»"*^  f"'  his  labor  has  been 
limited  and  the  supply  unlimited. 

In  the  spring  of  1918  the  Walla  Walla.  Washington.  Bulletin  ' 
summed  up  the  situation  thus : 

There  was  much  alarm  a  year  or  two  ago  over  the  migration  of  negroes 
to  the  North  in  large  numbers.  It  was  felt  that  they  had  far  better  stay 
m  he  South,  in  a  familiar  and  congenial  environment,  and  keep  on  raising 
cotton  and  food  than  crowd  into  the  inhospitable  North  for  unaccustomed 
factory  work.  We  have  heard  less  of  that  lately;  it  is  still  doubtful  whether 
the  change  is  good  for  the  negro  Inn.sclf.  and  there's  no  question  that  his 
coming  has  complicated  housing  conditions  and  social  problems  in  northern 
ernes.  But  economically  the  matter  appears  in  a  new  light.  .\t  a  time 
when  war  industries  were  starving  for  labor,  the  negro  provided  the  labor 
Me  IS  recoKMi/ed  as  a  new  iniiiistrial  asset. 

The  migration  has  been  unfortunate,  to  be  sure,  for  the  communities 
thus  deprived  of  agricultural  labor;  but  it  is  said  that  from  a  broad 
national  standpoint  the  gain  to  the  manufacturing  industries  more  than 
compensau-s.  And  there  has  been  an  actual  increase  in  the  output  of 
energy.  The  negro  works  harder  in  the  North.  He  produces  more.  He 
IS  thus  of  more  use  to  the  community.  And  for  the  benefit  he  brings 
communities  are  more  willing  than  they  were  at  first  to  tolerate  the 
inconvenience  due  to  his  coming. 

Some  of  the  negro  newspapers  opposed  the  migration. 
Prominent  among  these  was  the  Journal  and  Guide  of  Norfolk 
Virgm.a,  and  the  Foice  of  the  People  of  Birmingham,  Alabama.' 
In  speakmg  against  the  migration,  the  Journal  and  Guide '  said: 

'  October  1,  1916. 
-March  13.  1918. 
^  .March  24,  1917. 


PUBLIC   OPINION    REUARDING   THE    MIURATION  101 

It  is  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  to  check  the  operation  of  an  economic 
law,  and  it  is  perfectly  natural  that  men  sho<<ld  seel  fields  of  labor  in 
which  they  are  promised  higher  wages  and  wiier  conditions,  but  those 
who  go  and  those  «ho  encourage  the  going  of  the  i  should  get  the  facts 
of  the  so-called  inducements  and  learn  the  truth  about  them  before  lending 
their  influence  to  a  movement  that  can  not  only  promise  no  pt-rmatifnt 
good  to  laborers,  but  works  untold  injury  to  the  foundation  of  their  own 
economic  !    ucture. 

Another  phase  of  the  matter,  and  one  that  invites  the  condemnation  of 
all  honest  persons,  is  the  manner  in  which  negro  labor  is  at  present  ex- 
ploited to  satisfy  the  selfish  whims  of  a  group  of  misguided  and  ill-advised 
agitators  and  fanatics  on  the  race  question.  All  of  the  nice  talk  about 
"fleeing  from  southern  oppression,"  and  going  where  equal  rights  and 
social  privileges "  await  them  is  pure  buncombe.  is  strange  that  negro 

labor  should  stand  the  oppression  of  the  South  for  fifty  years  and  sud 
denly  make  up  its  mind  to  move  northward  as  an  evidence  of  its  resentment 
The  truth  of  the  matter  is  that  the  element  of  negroes  in  the  South 
that  feel  the  oppression  most  is  not  concerned  in  the  migration  movement 
Nor  are  they  going  to  leave  their  homes  .,id  accumulations  of  half  a  cen- 
tury as  a  solution  of  their  problems.  They  are  going  to  remain  here 
and  fight  out  their  constitutional  rights  accorded  them  here  in  the  land  of 
their  birth. 

The  editor  of  The  Star  of  Zion,  Charlotte.  North  Carolina,' 
conceded  the  right  of  the  negro  to  go  wherever  he  had  oppor- 
tunity  to  go;  on  the  other  hand,  it  was  doubtful  whether  a 
wholesale  exodus  was  for  the  best.     He  said : 

While  I  concede  the  black  man's  right  to  go  where  he  likes,  for  he  has 
the  right  of  liberty  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness,  yet  I  doubt  the  wisdom 
of  such  wholesale  exodus  from  the  South.  There  are  some  things  which 
the  negro  needs  far  more  than  his  wages,  or  some  of  the  rights  for  which 
he  contends.     He  needs  conservation  of  his  moral  life. 

In  the  North  a  negro  is  brought  face  to  face  with  new  problems ;  among 
the  many  is  the  problem  of  adjusting  himself  to  the  abundance  of  freedom 
into  which  he  comes  so  suddenly.  His  new  freedom  brings  him  new  changes, 
as  well  as  new  opportunities,  for  among  the  roses  there  lies  the  thorn.  . 
While  the  inducements  of  the  North  are  very  alluring,  in  the  end  the  negro 
problem  must  be  wrought  out  in  the  South. 

Concerning  the  Journal  and  Guide's  position,  the  Raleigh, 
North  Carolina,  Independent  =  took  issue  and  said : 

Our  disagreement  with  our  estimable  contemporary,  the  Norfolk  Journal 
and  Guide,  we  are  persuaded,  is  far  less  real  than  seeming.    Essentially  we 

>  July  19,  1917. 
*  April  28.  1917. 


Ij 


i 


102 


NEGRO    MIGRATION    DURING   THE    WAR 


are  in  accord.  We  an-  certain  that  the  Journal  and  Guide  ii  not  advocating 
the  limitation  of  the  nigro  to  any  one  section  of  the  country.  If  the  exigcn 
cus  of  the  present  war  have  created  a  demand  for  his  labor  in  the  North 
at  better  wages  than  he  can  secure  in  tlie  South  like  olliei  people,  he 
should  take  advantage  of  it  and  plant  himself  firmly  in  the  industrial  life 
of  the  section. 

There  are  two  ways  by  which  we  may  improve  our  condition  in  this 
country.  The  one  is  segregation— voluntary  segregation.  The  other  is 
•  scattiralion."  If  vve  can  conic  together,  build  up  communities  of  our 
own,  promote  them  into  towns  and  even  cities,  we  shall  do  well.  If.  on 
the  other  hand,  we  shall  scatter  all  over  the  land  and  have  nowhere  a 
numcriial  congestion,  we  strengthen  our  cause. 


The  Dallas  (Te.\a.s)  Ilxfinss^  said: 

The  strangest  thing,  the  real  mystery  about  the  exodus,  is  that  in  all  the 
Southland  there  has  not  been  a  single  meeting  or  promoter  to  start  the 
migration.  Just  simultaneously  all  over  the  South  about  a  year  ago,  the 
negro  began  to  cross  the  Mason  and  Dixon  line.  Indeed,  this  is  a  most 
striking  case  where  the  negro  has  been  doing  a  great  deal  more  thinking 
than  talking,  knowing  he  is  not  given  the  freedom  of  speech.  Who  knows, 
then,  what  the  providence  of  God  is  in  this  exodus.  This  exodus  is  not 
by  any  means  confined  to  the  worthless  or  the  ignorant  negro.  A  large 
per  cent  of  the  young  negroes  in  this  exodus  are  rather  intelligent.  Many 
of  the  business  houses  in  Houston,  Dallas  and  Galveston,  where  the  exodus 
Ii  greatest  in  Texas,  have  lost  some  of  their  best  help.  To  tell  the  truth 
more  fully,  the  negroes  generally  throughout  the  South  are  more  dissatis- 
fied with  conditions  than  they  have  bien  for  several  years  and  there  are 
just  reasons  why  they  should  be.  Every  negro  newspaper  and  publication 
in  this  broad  land,  including  pamphlets  and  books,  and  the  intelligent  negro 
pastor  with  backbone  and  courage  are  constantly  protesting  against  the 
injustices  done  the  negro.  And  possibly  these  agents  have  been  the  greatest 
incentives  to  help  create  and  crystallize  this  unrest  and  migration. 

How  the  negro  should  be  treated  and  what  would  hold  him 
in  the  South  was  discussed  at  length  and  on  many  occasions 
in  the  columns  of  the  Atlanta  (Georgia)  Independent*  An 
example  of  this  discussion  follows: 

Last  week  we  discussed  at  length  the  negro  exodus.  We  tried  to  point 
out  in  plain,  simple  and  manly  language  the  reason  and  remedy  for  moving 
north.  We  warned  our  white  neighbors  that  city  ordinances  and  legislation 
could  not  stem  the  tide:  that  humane  treatment  would  do  more  to  settle 
the   negro's   industrial   and   economic   unrest   than   anything   else:   that   the 

'August   11.   1917. 
•;  January  27,  1917. 


PI  III.IC    OI'INION    RKlJAHDING    TlIK    MIGRATION  1«J 

South  was  his  natural  homt  and  he  desired  to  .lay  here:  but  in  order  to 
keep   him   at   home   he   must   have  contentment;   he   had   to  b«  assured  of 
protection  of  hfe  4nd  property  ;  assured  of  the  enjoyment  of  pubhc  utdities 
•s.urcd    of    educational    advantages    ample    an.l    adequate,    to    prepare    hi> 
children   for  useful  and  helpful  cituensh.p;  he  must  be  permitted  to  serve 
l.od    unmolested   and    to    assemble    in    the    community    where    lie    lives     in 
church,  in  society  and  politics :   for  his  own  moral,  intellectual  and  physical 
beneht   he  must  be  given  living  wages  and  reminded  in  his  daily  .lealings 
with  his  white  neighbor  that  he  is  a  citi/en.  not  a  negro,  and  that  he  is 
charge.l    with    responsibiln.es   like   other   citizens.     The   negro   is   conscious 
of  Ins  racial  identity  and  not  ashamed  of  it.     He  is  proud  of  his  race  and 
his  color,  but  does  not  like  to  have  the  word  "  negro  "  define  his  relation 
as  a  citizen.     The  white  man  should  understand  that  the  negro  is  makinK 
progress;    that   he    is   getting   property  and   education;    that   his   wants   art 
nureasing    in    common    with    the    white    man's    wants   and    that    he    is   not 
going  to  be  bottled  up  or  hemmed  up  in  any  community,  so  long  as  there 
IS  another  community  on  the  face  of  the  earth  where  he  can  breathe  freely 
and  enjoy  the  pursuits  of  life,  liberty  and  happiness  in  common  with  other 
men. 

The  Christian  Index  '  the  official  organ  of  the  Colored  Metho- 
dist Episcopal  Church,  published  at  Jackson.  Tennessee,  was  of 
the  opinion  that: 


There  are  two  sets  of  causes  for  the  negro  leaving  the  South  at  this 
time.  One  set  may  be  known  as  the  surface  causes  and  the  other  set  beneath 
ttie-surface  causes.  The  surface  causes  are  easily  seen  and  understood 
1  hese  are  economic  causes.  The  war  in  Europe  has  called  home  foreigners 
out  of  the  mdustnal  centers  of  the  North  and  West.  These  large  factories 
and  other  industrial  enterprises,  representing  enormous  investments  had  to 
turn  in  some  other  direction  for  labor.  These  large  industrial  opportunities 
with  higher  wages  made  strong  appeals  to  the  southern  negro 

The  beneath-the-surface  causes  are  to  be  found  in  the  handicaps  under 
which  the  negro  labors  in  the  South  and  the  uncivilized  treatment  to 
which  he  IS  subjected.  He  is  segregated.  To  this  he  most  strenuouslv 
objects.  TJieru  is  a  diflference  between  segregation  and  separation,  espc 
cially  so  in  the  southern  interpretation  of  segregation  as  observed  in  the 
practice  of  the  South  in  its  enforcement  of  the  idea.  Separation  in  matters 
social  and  religious  is  not  necessarily  objectionable.  Left  alone  each  race 
group  instinctively  seeks  separation  from  other  race  groups.  Hut  segrcga 
tion.  as  we  have  it,  means  more  than  separation:  it  means  inferiority  an.l 
humih.ition.  It  means  not  only  another  section  of  the  city  for  the  negro, 
but  a  section  that  is  inferior  in  improvement  and  protection:  it  means  not 
only  a  different  school,  but  an  inferior  school  both  in  building  and  equip- 
ment;   It   means   not   only   separate   accommodations    on    the    railroads,    but 

'  June  24,  1917. 


1(U 


XK(;t«)    MICRATICIN    lUklNU    THE    WAR 


deploral.ly  ii,fir,.,r  accommodations;  this,  too.  in  the  face  of  the  fact  that 
the  I'.iRro  pays  the  same  price  that  is  paid  by  others. 

Another  cause  is  the  code  of  laws,  or  rather  the  practice  of  it  that 
gives  more  concern  to  the  color  of  a  man's  skin  tlian  to  the  merits  of  i 
case  he  may  have  in  the  courts  of  justice.  The  negro  is  taught  not  to 
expect  justice  m  the  courts,  however  mdustrious.  honest.  law  abiding  he 
may  be.  when  h.s  lawful  rights  to  liberty  and  protection  are  contested  by 
a  white  man.  The  ncRfo  sutlers  in  the  courts,  not  always  because  he  is 
guilty,  not  because  he  lacks  character,  but  because  his  skin,  not  his  heart 
IS  black. 

What  was  the  attitude  of  tlie  northern  negroes  toward  the 
migration.^  With  some  exceptions,  negroes  north  assumed  a 
friendly  attitude  toward  the  migrants.  Many  of  these  residents 
of  the  North  were  themselves  but  recently  come  from  the  South. 
The  newcomers  were  looked  upon  as  brethren,  just  coming  into 
the  "  Promised  Land."  They  were  welcomed  in  the  churches 
and  otherwise  made  to  feel  at  home.  In  some  cities  there  were 
organizations  of  resident  negroes  to  look  after  the  welfare  of 
the  new  arrivals.  In  tlie  northern  race  newspapers,  the  attitude 
of  the  negro  north  was  fully  set  fc^rth.  as  the  following  extracts 
from  the  AVjt-  York  A'l'zivy '  indicate: 

We  hail  with  no  alarm  whatever  the  influx  of  colored  men  from  the 
South.  The  colored  people  of  the  North  will  be  strengthened  by  the 
hard  working,  ambitious  laborers  a.hled  to  their  numbers.  The  l.dwrin* 
conditions  and  life  of  the  masses  of  the  colored  people  in  the  South  wiil 
be  made  better  and  brighter  by  their  leaving. 

Yet  a  heavy  responsibili.y  rests  upon  every  colored  leader,  moral  and 
CIVIC,  m  these  northern  States  to  take  an  especial  interest  in  their  newly 
arrivmg  brethren.  Vou  must  teach  them  not  to  take  their  liberty  to  be 
ladies  and  gentlemen  for  license  to  degrade  themselves  and  their  race 
here.  Vou  must  urge  them  t..  avoid  the  deadly  vice  nnd  wasting  extrava- 
gance of  the  unhealthy  congested  city.  They  should  fin.l  their  homes  and 
rear  their  families  in  the  suburbs,  where  they  can  buy  their  own  homes 
and  properly  train  their  children  in  head,  hand  and  heart.  Urge  them  to 
get  steady  work  and  settle  down.  Urge  them  to  become  good  citizens 
and  better  parerits.  Urge  them  to  go  to  church,  to  lead  patient  Christian 
lives  and  all  will  come  out  well  in  the  end. 

The  Philadelphia  Christian  Recorder '  took  the  ground  that : 

1    The   negro   is  an   .American.     He   speaks  the   language  of  the  country 
and   IS,  therefore,  superior  to  the   foreigner   in   this  respect. 

'  September   17.   1916. 
-Tebruary  1,  1917. 


PUBLIC   OPINION    REGARDING    THE    MIGRATION 


165 


2.  He  knows  the  customs  of  the  country  and  here  again  has  the  advantage 
of  the  foreigner. 


{'td  to  have  an  opportunity  to  make 
d  morally  the  superior  of  the  immi- 


3.  He  is  a  peaceable  worker  anc 
good. 

4.  The  negro  is  physically  the  cqi 
grant  from  Europe. 

There  are  reasons  why  the  negro  sh  .uld  succeed  in  the  North.  So  we 
have  no  doubt  that  many  will  come. 

Indeed,  if  a  million  negroes  move  north  and  west  in  the  next  twelve 
months,  it  will  be  one  of  the  greatest  things  for  the  negro  since  the  Eman- 
cipation Proclamation.  And  the  movement  of  a  million  negroes  should 
not  alarm  anybody,  especially  when  we  remember  that  a  million  immigranU 
were  coming  every  year  to  this  country  before  the  war. 

Let  the  good  work  go  on.  Let  every  community  in  the  .North  organize 
to  get  jobs  for  our  i.iends  in  the  South.  Let  a  million  come.  In  coming 
the  negroes  will   get  higher   wages. 

They  will  get  first  class  schools,  running  nine  months  a  year— a  thing 
worth   leaving  the  South   for,  if   there   were  no  other  advantages. 

They  will  have  a  chance  in  the  courts.  If  they  should  happen  to  have 
a  difference  with  a  white  man,  they  will  not  take  their  Hves  in  their  own 
hands  by  standing  up  for  their  side. 

They  will  be  able  to  defend  their  homes,  their  wives  and  children  in  a 
way  no  negro  can  now  protect  them  in  the  South. 

They  will  have  the  right  to  vote.  The  foreigner  must  wait  seven  years 
for  this— the  negro  only  one  year.  If  a  million  negroes  come  north,  they 
will  soon  get  sufficient  political  power,  which  combined  with  their  economic 
power  will  be  able  to  force  the  South  to  do  some  things  she  is  now 
unwilling  to  do. 

With  labor  competition  for  the  negro  between  North  and  South  with  the 
North  offering  higher  wages,  better  living  conditions,  better  education,  pro- 
tection and  a  vote,  the  South  must  bestir  herself  if  she  would  keep  the 
best  labor  in  the  world.  And  southern  statesmen  will  see  that  the  South 
must  cease  to  lynch,  begin  to  educate  and  finally  restore  the  ballot. 

"  But,"  says  an  objector,  "  these  negroes  coming  north  will  increase 
prejudice."  What  if  they  do?  Then  the  northern  negro  will  sympathize 
more  with  his  southern  brother.  But  if  prejudice  increases,  the  negro 
has  the  ballot  which  is  an  effective  way  to  combat  it.  If  a  million  negroes 
come  here  we  will  have  more  negro  businesses,  better  churches,  more  pro- 
fessional men  and  real  political  power,  and  the  negro  in  the  North  will 
begin  to  get  a  social  position  not  based  on  mere  charity. 


What  were  the  causes  of  migration?  A  very  large  part  of 
the  discussion  of  the  movement  was  taken  up  with  setting  forth 
the  causes.  The  Montgomery  Advertiser  was  of  the  opinion 
that  the  chief  causes  of  the  negro's  leaving  central  Alabama  were 
floods  and  the  cotton  IxjII  weevil : 


Ifiti 


NKc.Ko  mi(;katiox  DiRixr.  Tiib:  war 


llic   iiigro    from    middle    Alabama    is    ooii.a   nr.rm    i.  / 

of  .J!  r'T   ",  T""  ^""'"  '''■   "   "•*  •"«'''   unforiunate  of   the   victi  ,s 
yea7°Bu'r  we"wiirdo   "''H"''  ""'^  ^'"-     '  "^^^  "»'  ^'''^  -y«hin«  .his 

^^^r cF~  ^^^  --- -  ="  :^?^ 

ha^sJid    "tou  ■""!;  ""  "'  '"^"^^  »"«  ♦»>*''  ""•"«>«'  i*  too  large 

oi  me  next  crop  year.     You  must  go  out  and  shift  for  yourselves" 
This  cold  blooded  business  view  of  »h*  .;,..,.  y°"rseives. 

of  t"*,^rn.°"'  °' "" "'""' "»"  °'"" «'«"  - »  "- 

Current  dispatches   from  Albany.  Georgia    in  th*  —„.-,     /  .u 
The   heaviest    migration   of   neirroes   has   h*,..,    fr^™    .^ 

»  rAr  Wdrrr/M.r,  Montgomery.   Alabama.   December   12.   1916. 


PUBLIC   OPINION    REGARDI.NC;    Till:    MIGRATION  1(57 

If  Georgia  is  injured,  agriculturally  niul  iiultistrially  by  the  negro  cxodas 
the  white  people  htre  have  no  one  to  blame  but  themselves 

The  mdictment  is  true,  every  word  of  it.  The  appeal  to  humanity  to 
fairness  and  jusfce  and  r.ght.  has  been  apparently  without  effect  I't  Ts 
unfortunate  for  the  people  of  Georgia  that  an  appeal  to  the  pocketbook 
should  be  necessary  to  bnng  back  the  enthronement  of  law.  but   if   moral 

rrunLfars.^''^  "^-''^  °'  ""--• '-- '-  --^  -^ 
solth  T:^^:;tlZi:''  ""^"""  ^'^  "^'•^" ''"-  ^^*''«"'  -•^  ^"^ 

There  is  no  secret  about  what  must  be  done,  if  Georgia  would  save  herself 
from   threatened   disaster,    which,    in    some   sections,    has   already    become 

In  the  first  place,  there  must  be  no  more  mobs.     Mobs  and  mob  spirit 
must  be  eliminated  completely,  so  completely  that  there  will  be  no  danger 
of  recurrence      If  a  negro  be  charged  with  a  crime,  even  if  it  be  known 
ha    he  IS  guilty,  he  must  be  given  the  same  fair  treatment  be  ore  the  lli 
tl  chiin  .'  *'"i'  ""*"•    "  '"^"''"«'  •'  *«»■''  *'«"•  that  ignorance 

Sits tit  excuse      "'       "*"   ""''  consideration   than   the  crime   which 

■  ^"\""''«  »''»"  «hat.  we  must  be  fair  to  the  negro.  There  is  no  use 
m  beating  about  the  bush;  we  have  not  shown  that  fairness  !n.hrpast 

rr.„,T//  r'"*  "  "^'^'  '"*•"  '"  ^"*"«  »'«f°«  'he  law,  in  facilhie. 
accorded  for  education  or  m  other  directions.  Argue  it  as  you  will,  tie" 
thing,  which  we  have  not  o'one  are  the  things  which  we  rnu.  do.  oJ 
Georgia  will  suflTer  for  it  in  proiwrtion  as  she  fails.* 

In  connection  with  lynchings  there  was  the  general  fear  of 
mob  violence.    This  fear  was  taken  advantage  of  by  labor  agents 
as  the  following  indicates :  ' 


1% 


We  are  astonished,  too.  to  learn  that  one  of  the  reasons  for  this  unreit 
among  the  negroes  who  were  bom  and  reared  here  is  fear  that  al    n^ 
are  to  be  r^n  out  of  Georgia.     This  idea,  of  course,  has  been  planS  L 
he  mmds  of  the  simple  minded  of  the  race  by  the  crafty  and  unscrLpdou" 
labor  agents  who  have  operated  in  almost  every  section  of  the  Stat7 

ifL      u*'  '    "'^  *•'"'  *  "'^^  '^  "°»  ''^«-    And  we  do  not  know  of 
anybody  that  is  doing  anything  to  change  this  condition 

Labor  agents  are  doing  their  best  to  put  the  fear  into  the  hearts  of  the 

negroes  ,n   this   State  that   they  are  going  to  be   run  out   by    he   white 

people,  some  of  them  even  fixing  the  time  as  next  June;  but  thfs  work 

began  long  before  the  negro  exodus  north  was  thought  of     The  exaZle 

of    one   county    in    north    Georgia,    which    ran    every    negro   outwas    fo 

lowed  by  other  counfes  adjoining,  and  the  generJ  public  has  li«"  id«i 

•^//awta  ConsliluttoH,  December  10,  1916. 


lOM 


NKGRO    MIGRATION    DURING    THE    WAR 


how   widespread   tin-   contagion   Ucamc— for   lawlessness   is   nearly   always 
contagious. 

If  c;eorgia  is  injured,  agriculturally  and  industrially,  by  the  negro  exodus, 
the  white  people  here  have  no  one  to  blame  but  themselvei.  They  have 
allowed  negroes  to  be  lynche.l,  five  at  a  time,  on  nothing  stronger  than 
suspicion;  they  have  allowed  whole  sections  to  be  depopulated  of  them; 
they  have  allowed  them  to  be  whitecapped  and  whipped,  and  their  homes 
burned,  with  only  the  weakest  and  most  spasmodic  eflforts  to  apprehend 
or  punish  those  guilty— when  any  efforts  were  made  at  all. 

Has  not  the  negro  been  given  the  strongest  proof  that  he  has  no  assureil 
right  to  live,  to  own  property  nor  to  expect  justice  in  Georgia? 

When  the  negro  is  gone,  his  loss  will  be  felt  in  every  large  agricultural 
section  and  every  industrial  community  of  the  South.  For  the  average 
white  man  can  not  do  the  heavier  work  at  the  sawmills,  naval  stores  plants 
and  in  many  lines  of  manufacture,  that  is  now  being  done  by  the  negro. 
As  a  consequence,  these  plants  and  many  large  plantations  must  stand  idle 
or  import  a  class  of  white  labor  that  will  be  a  great  deal  worse  than  the 
black.  Confronted  with  cheap  white  labor,  and  white  men  of  a  race  of 
which  they  have  no  understanding— then  will  the  South  have  its  labor 
problems. 

But  at  present,  it  seems,  little  can  be  done.  Unless  southern  white  people 
who  have  their  all  invested  in  agriculture  or  manufacturing  take  care  of 
their  own  interest  by  seeing  that  the  negro  gets  justice  when  suspected 
and  a  fair  trial  when  accused,  and  assured  that  so  long  as  he  behaves  he 
will  be  guaranteed  safety  of  life  and  property,  it  is  perhaps  as  well  to  let 
the  negro  go.  It  will  mean  an  industrial  revolution  for  the  South,  but  the 
present  condition  of  affairs  has  become  intolerable." 

The  negroes  of  the  South  used  both  the  white  and  negro 
newspapers  of  that  section  in  carrying  on  the  discussion  of 
the  migration  movement.  The  substance  of  what  the  negroes 
said  through  the  press  was  that,  first  of  all,  the  negroes  wanted 
to  stay  in  the  South  and  were  going  north  not  only  because 
there  they  could  secure  better  wages  than  were  generally  paid 
in  the  South,  but  also  because  they  would,  in  the  North,  get 
protection  and  have  privileges  not  accorded  in  the  South.  Con- 
cerning the  negro  wanting  to  stay  in  the  South,  it  was  pointed 
out  that  in  the  South  he  did  have  economic  opportunity  and 
received  encouragement.  "  The  truth  is  that  the  negroes  who 
are  leaving  the  South  in  large  numbers,  and  others  who  are 
thinking  of  going,  do  not  want  to  go.  They  prefer  to  remain 
here."  =■' 

'  Gci^r,y,a.  Ca:eite.  reprint   from  Altania  Conslitulin».  December   10    1916 
'.Igc  Herald.  Uirmiiigham.   Alabama,   September  25,   1916. 


PUBLIC   OPINION    REGARDING   THE    MIGRATION  lC!t 

It  was  pointed  out  that  the  passing  of  stringent  labor  laws 
would  not  stop  the  exodus.  The  negro  could  not  be  kept  in  the 
South  by  force. 

Various    communities    (said    a    neRro)    arc   passing    stringent    laws    with 

he  v.ew  of  makmg  the  business  of  agents  either  .mpracticable  or  impo  - 

s.ble.      Th.s    w.ll    ultimately   have   the    very    opposite    cflfect    of    what    was 

ToV..      r  ?  r^"  r'  '"""  •'"  "''""  "'°"«''"  =«"<»   feeling,  « 
my  o«n  people.     I  know  the.r  yearnings  and  the  religious  .eal  with  which 

hi,  fnr  .    °"*"'';°."^''  f"«"^^  f"--  »>*«"  days,  and  to  other  chmcs  than 
this  for  bitter  conditions. 

-Now  to  pass  severe  laws  to  block  this  movement  will  not  only  be  n  waste 
of  time  but  the  most  unwise  way  of  dealing  with  the  problem.  The  problem 
can  not  be  solved  from  the  angle  of  force.  pro.jiem 

J"(  T'*r/°'  *'!'  "T*?  '°  ^'  '"='"  *"  •*"=  ^""♦f'  »>«  "»'»«  be  made  to  see, 

o  feel,  that  on  the  whde  it  will  be  better  for  him  to  remain  in  the  South 

than  to  migrate  to  the  North.    Stop  lynching.    Teach  us  to  love  the  Sou  h 

1'.  "  ^"'"""';^':"^  ^r  "»^'"S  «°  abridge  us  in  such  extremes  in  com- 
mon   rights  and  citizenship. 

Another  method  of  helping  to  keep  the  negro  in  the  South  is  for  the 
better  class  of  whites  to  get  hold  of  the  negroes.  In  a  word,  there  should 
be  coopera  ion  between  the  races.  The  negroes  should  be  given  better 
schools  and  the  whites  should  se.  before  the  negroes  better  examplel  o 
law  and  order.  The  North  is  offering  better  homes,  better  schools  and 
justice  before  the  law.     The  South  can  do  the  same. 

"  One  of  our  grievances."  said  a  negro  correspondent  of  the 
Chattanooga  Times,'  "is  that  in  colored  localities  we  have  very 
bad  streets,  no  lights,  no  sewerage  system,  and  sanitary  condi- 
tions are  necessarily  bad.  Give  the  negro  the  right  kind  of  a 
show,  living  wages,  consider  him  as  a  man.  and  he  will  be 
contented  to  remain  here." 

.\  good  presentation  of  the  negroes'  side  of  the  case  is  given 
in  tiie  following  letter  from  a  negro  minister  to  the  Montgomery 
Adxrrtiscr.-    He  wrote: 

the^!!"!.,!!!""'^  ?'  South  raise  such  objection,  to  the  jobless  man  seeking 
the   manless  job.  especially   when   it  has   held   that  jobless   man   up   ,o   the 

n1^    h  r^''*  r  '""'"«•  *''*^""='  ''"''  »"'=''  ^  «'"^den  ,0  the  South' 

Now  the  opportunity  has  come  to  the  negro  to  relieve  the  South  of  some 
of  Its  burden,  an.l  at  the  same  time  advance  his  own  interests,  a  great  hue 

melh^Hnf  '''"'*'*. '^V  '•,"'."■''  "«'  be  allowed,  and  the  usual  and  foolish 
method  of  repressive  legislation  is  brought  into  play. 

^  'ihl'^^A^JrT'  ^'^t''""'  '"  (^''"'""'"oga  Time.,.  October  10,  1916 
J  he  Advfrttser.  Montgomery.  Alabama,  October  7.  1916. 


170 


NEGRO    MIGRATION    IH'RING    THE    WAR 


Atldressiiifj  the  editor  of  the  Advertiser,  anotlier  negro  cor- 
respondent >aid: 

I  have  read  with  profound  interest  the  many  articles  published  in  your 
paper   up.m   the  gnat   niKro  exodus    from   the   South. 

The  negro  hns  remained  in  the  South  ahnost  as  a  solid  mass  since  his 
emancipation.  This  in  itself  shows  that  he  loves  the  South,  and  if  he  is 
now  mrgrat.nR  to  the  East.  North  and  West  by  the  hundreds  and  thousands, 
there  must  W-  a  cause  for  it.  We  should  do  our  best  to  find  out  these 
causes  and  at  least   suggest  the  remedy. 

The  time  has  come  for  plain  speaking  on  the  part  of  all.  It  will  do  us 
no  good  to  try  to  hide  the  f.icts.  becau.se  "truth  crushed  to  earth  will  rise 
again."  In  the  first  place,  the  negro  in  this  country  is  oppressed.  This 
oppression  is  greatest  where  the  negro  population  is  greatest.  The  negro 
population  happens  to  lie  greater  in  the  South  than  in  the  North,  there- 
fore, he  IS  more  oppressed  in  the  South  than  in  the   North. 

Take  the  counties  in  our  State.  Some  are  known  as  white  counties 
and  others  as  black  counties.  In  the  white  counties  the  negro  is  given 
better  eaucatioiial  opportunities  than  in  the  black  counties.  I  have  in 
mind  one  Black  Belt  county  where  the  white  child  is  given  $15  per  year 
for  his  education  and  the  negro  child  only  30  cents  a  year.  See  the 
late  Booker  r.  Washington's  article.  'Is  the  Negro  Having  a  Fair  Chance'" 
Now  these  facts  are  generally  known  throughout  this  State  by  both  white 
and   black.     And  we  all  know  that   it  is  unjust.     It  is  oppression. 

This  oppression  shows  itself  in  many  ways.  Take  for  example  the 
railroads  running  through  the  rural  sections  of  the  South.  There  are 
many  flag  stations  where  hundreds  of  our  people  get  off  and  on  the  train 
The  railroads  have  little  stops  at  the  platform  about  six  feet  square-  only 
one  coach  stops  at  this  point:  the  negro  women,  girls  and  boys  are  com- 
pelled to  get  off  and  on  the  train  sometimes  in  water  and  in  the  ditches 
because  there  are  no  provisions  made   for  them  otherwise. 

Again  take  the  matter  of  the  franchise.  We  all  agree  that  ignorant 
negroes  should  not  be  intrusted  with  this  power,  but  we  all  feel  that  where 
a  negro  has  been  smart  and  industrious  in  getting  an  education  and  property 
and  pays  his  taxes,  he  should  be  represented.  Taxation  without  representa 
tion  is  just  as  unjust  today  as  it  was  in  1776.  It  is  just  as  unfair  for  the 
negro  as  it  is  to  the  white  man.  and  we  all.  both  white  and  black,  know 
this.  We  may  shut  our  eyts  to  this  great  truth,  as  sometimes  we  do  but 
it  is  unjust  just  the  same. 

Take  the  matter  of  the  courts.  There  is  no  justice  unless  the  negro  has 
a  case  against  another  negro.  When  he  has  a  case  against  a  white  man, 
you  can  tell  what  the  decision  will  be  just  as  soon  as  you  know  the  nature 
of  the  case,  unless  some  strong  white  man  will  come  to  the  negro's  rescue. 
This,  too.  is  generally  known  and  the  negro  does  not  expect  justice. 

As  yet,  there  hks  been  no  concerted  action  on  the  part  of  the  white  people 
to  stop  mob  violence.  I  know  a  few  plantations,  however,  where  the  owners 
will  not  allow  their  negroes  to  Ijc  arrested  without  the  officer  first  consult- 
ing them,  and  these  negroes  idolize  these  white  men  as  gods,  and  so  far 


PUBLIC  OPINION   REGARDING   THE   MIGRATION  171 

not  one  of  these  negToet  hai  gone  north.  I  repeat  there  are  outcroppinn 
of  these  oppressions  everywhere  in  this  country,  but  they  show  themsclve* 
most  where  the  negroes  are  in  the  largest  numbers.  But  all  of  this  the 
negro  is  perfectly  willing  to  endure,  and  they  all  may  be  classed  ai  the 
secondary  cause  of  this  great  exodus. 

The  primary  cause  is  economic.  The  storms  and  floods  of  last  July 
and  August  destroyed  practically  all  crops  in  a  large  part  of  the  South 
and  especially  in  the  Black  Belt  section.  These  people  are  hungry  they 
are  naked,  they  have  no  corn  and  had  no  cotton,  so  they  are  without  food 
and  clothes.  What  else  can  they  do  but  go  away  in  search  of  work' 
There  are  a  great  many  wealthy  white  men  here  and  there  throughout 
the  Black  Belt  section.  They  have  large  plantations  which  need  the  ditches 
cleared  and  new  ones  made  to  properly  drain  their  farms.  They  could 
have  given  work  to  these  destitute  people;  but  what  have  they  done" 
Nothing.  They  say  that  it  is  a  pity  for  the  negro  to  go  away  in  such 
large  numbers,  and  so  it  is,  but  that  will  not  stop  them.  They  have  it 
in  their  power  to  stop  them  by  making  the  negro's  economic  condition  better 
here. 

Thus  ftr  the  average  white  man  of  the  South  has  been  interested  in 
the  negro  from  a  selfish  point  of  view;  he  must  now  become  interested 
in  him  from  a  humanitarian  point  of  view.  He  must  be  interested  in  his 
educational,  moral  and  religious  welfare.  We  know  that  we  have  many 
Ignorant,  vicious  and  criminal  negroes  which  are  a  disgrace  to  any  people 
but  they  are  ignorant  because  they  have  not  had  a  chance.  Why  I  know 
one  county  in  this  State  today  with  10.000  negro  children  of  school  age 
and  only  4.000  of  these  are  in  school,  according  to  the  report  of  the  Super- 
intendent of  Education.  We  can  not  expect  ignorant  people  to  act  like 
intelligent  ones,  and  no  amount  of  abuse  will  make  them  better. 

Sometimes  we  hear  it  said  that  the  white  man  of  the  South  knows  the 
negro  better  than  anybody  else,  but  the  average  white  man  of  the  South 
only  knows  the  ignorant,  vicious  and  criminal  negro  better  than  anybody 
else.  He  knows  little  of  the  best  class  of  negroes.  I  am  glad  to  say 
however,  that  there  are  a  few  southern  white  men  who  know  the  better 
class,  and  know  them  intimately,  and  are  doing  what  they  can  to  better 
the  negro's  condition.  I  would  to  God  that  the  number  of  these  few  could 
be  increased  a  hundredfold.' 


I 


R.  R.  Wright,  President  of  the  Georgia  State  Industrial  Col- 
lege for  Negroes,  in  a  discussion  of  the  causes  of  the  migration 
movement  stated  that  it  is  undoubtedly  true  that  the  hi^ 
wages  offered  is  the  main  cause.  There  are  other  aiding  causes, 
however,  for  this  movement  besides  low  wages. 

Naturally  the  negro  is  peculiarly  adapted  to  a  southern  cli- 

irY'  !.\^c*'"'''*L,Mf'"fiP?'  °'  ^"o*  "'"  Normal  and  Industrial  Institute 
(ColoredK  Snow  Hill,  Alabama,  in  the  Advertuer,  Montgomery,  Alabama, 


r. 


172 


NEGRO    MIGRATION   DURING  THE   WAR 


mate  and  prefers  to  remain  in  the  South.  He  has  made  his  best 
projjress  in  the  South.  There  are  nearly  a  niiUion  negro  farm 
operators  and  most  of  them  are  in  the  South.  The  total  acreage 
of  their  farms  is  42,L'7y.iilO:  valued  at  $1,141,7U2.526.  In 
the  vahie  of  farms  operated  there  was  an  increase  of  128.5  per 
cent,  durinjj  the  last  cen.sus  decade,  while  the  value  of  farm 
property  operated  by  white  farmers  for  the  same  time  increased 
only  !)!».»!  |)er  cent.  The  nejjro  is  prospering  in  the  South.  Now 
this  and  other  facts  constitute  for  the  negro  a  strong  tie  to 
the  southern  soil. 

This  tie  should  not  ht  hroketi  lightly.  The  negro  does  not  want  to  leave 
the  South.  The  only  thins  to  l)rc:ik  this  tic  is  unlair  and  cruel  treatment 
of  the  negro  on  the  part  of  the  white  man.  In  this  connection  our  white 
friends  should  know  that  not  only  in  the  lynchings,  and  in  the  courts 
and  in  the  unwholesome  conditions  on  the  southern  railway  common  carriers 
(as  vital  as  these  are),  hut  that  in  the  general  attitude  of  many  of  our 
southern  white  people,  there  is  exhibited  a  contempt  for  the  negro  which 
makes  the  best  of  the  negroes  feel  that  they  are  only  tolerated  in  the 
South.  And  yet  in  their  individual  relations  there  is  no  Ixtter  friend  to  the 
negro  in  the  world  than  the  southern  white  man.  In  the  face  of  our 
friends  it  is  hard  to  explain  this  discountuig  and  this  contemptuous  attitude, 
and  yet  everyb<i<ly  understands  that  it  exists.  "  You  are  only  a  negro 
*nd  are  not  entitled  to  the  courteous  treatment  accorded  to  members  of 
other  races."  Another  cause  is  the  feeling  of  insecurity.  The  lack  of 
legal  protection  in  the  country  is  a  constant  nightmare  to  the  colored 
peoi>le  who  arc  trying  to  accumulate  a  comfortable  little  home  and   farm. 

There  is  scarcely  a  negro  mother  in  the  country  who  does  not  live  in 
dread  and  fear  that  her  husband  or  son  may  come  in  unfriendly  contact 
with  some  white  person  so  as  to  bring  the  lynchers  or  the  arresting  officers 
to  her  door,  which  may  result  in  the  wiping  out  of  her  entire  family.  It 
must  be  acknowledged  that  thi>  is  a  sad  condition. 

The  southern  white  man  o.ight  to  be  willing  to  give  the  negro  a  man's 
chance  without  regard  to  his  race  or  color;  give  him  at  least  the  same 
protection  of  law  given  to  any  one  else.  If  he  will  not  do  this,  the  negro 
must  seek  those  north  or  west  who  will  give  him  better  wages  and  better 
treatment.! 


One  of  the  most  thoughtful  discussions  of  the  causes  of 
migration  was  by  W.  T.  Andrews,  a  negro  lawyer  and  editor, 
formerly  of  Sumter.  South  Carolina.  In  an  address  before  the 
1017  South  Carolina  Race  Conference  he  said: 

>  Reprinted  from  the  Afoming  Xe-us.  Savannah.  Georgia.  January  3,  1917. 


PI  BMC   OPINION    REGARDING   THE    MIGRATION 


173 


In  my  viiw  the  chict  causes  of  negro  unrest  and  disturliance  are  at 
follows:  ihc  destruction  of  his  political  privileges  and  curtailment  of  his 
civil  rights;  no  protection  of  life,  lilicrty  and  property  under  the  law; 
Jim  Crow  car;  residential  and  labor  segregation  laws;  no  educational 
facilities  worthy  of  die  name  in  most  of  the  southern  States  These.  I 
believe,  are  the  most  potent  causes  which  are  now  impelling  the  southern 
negro  to  seek  employment  and  find  homes  in  northern  an<l  western  sections 
of  the  country. 

In  South  Carolina,  and  I  believe  it  is  equally  true  of  every  southern 
State,  except  those  classed  as  "border  States."  statute  after  statute  has 
been  passed  to  curtail  the  rights  of  the  negro,  but  in  not  a  single  instance 
can  a  law  be  pointed  to  which  was  enacted  for  the  purpose  of  enlarging 
his  opportunity,  surrounding  himself  and  his  family  with  the  protection 
of  the  law.  or  for  the  betterment  of  his  condition.  On  the  contrary  every 
law  passed  relating  to  the  negro  has  been  passed  with  the  intent  of  con- 
trolling his  labor  and  drawing  his  circle  of  freedom  into  smaller  and  smaller 
compass. 

In  the  rural  districts  the  negro  is  not  only  at  the  mercy  of  the  lawless 
white  individual  citizen,  but  equally  at  the  mercy  of  the  rural  police,  the 
constables  and  magistrates.  Ihere  is  hardly  a  record  in  modern  history 
of  greater  oppression  by  judicial  officers  than  that  dealt  to  the  negroes  by 
a  large  majority  of  the  magistrates  and  other  officials  who  preside  over 
the  inferior  courts  of  South  Carolina. 

In  towns  and  cities,  as  a  rule,  mayors'  and  recorders'  courts  are  mills 
for  grinding  out  negro  convicts:  negroes  charged  with  petty  offenses  are 
brought  into  these  courts,  convicted  and  sentenced  with  lightning  speed, 
l)cfore  they  even  realize  that  they  are  on  trial  unless  they  are  able  lo  hire 
attorneys,  whose  fees  often  equal  the  fine  that  would  be  imposed.  They 
are  beaten  at  will  by  arresting  officers,  frequently  shot  and  many  killed 
if  attempt  is  made  to  escape  by  running  away  from  the  officer,  and  for 
any  such  shooting,  officers  are  seldom  put  to  the  inconvenience  of  trial, 
even  if  the  victim  die. 

In  tragic  truth  it  must  be  confessed  that  there  is  in  the  South— South 
Carolina,  more  ccrtainly~no  protection  for  the  life  or  person  of  any  negro 
of  whatever  standing,  sex.  age,  against  the  intent  of  the  bloody-minded 
white  man. 

The  negro  does  not  ask  for  special  privileges  or  social  legislation  in  his 
behalf.  He  does  not  ask  to  be  measured  by  any  standard  less  than 
the  white  man's  standard,  but  he  insists  that  the  same  test  shall  apply  to 
all  men  of  all  races.  He  refuses  to  accept  the  declaration  of  men  who  claim 
to  be  earthly  agents  and  representatives  of  the  .\lmighty.  the  interpreters 
of  His  will  and  laws,  and  who  solemnly  assert  that  the  God  of  the  Chris- 
tian ordained  and  decreed  the  negro  race  to  be  in  slavery  or  semislavery 
to  the  white  race. 

The  negro  believes  that  the  world  is  built  on  a  moral  foundation  wit.i 
justice  as  its  basic  rock.  He  believes  that  the  Almighty  is  just,  merciful 
and  benevolent,  and  that  He  included  all  men  in  His  plan  of  human  devel- 
opment and  reaching  out  for  protection. 


174 


NEGRO   MIGRATION   DURING   THE   WAR 


milf  !?'"  **'"  'V  ^"*""-     ^'"••''"«  '"»  '»«"  J»»«'"  will  ,uy  the  move, 
of  .he  c«;.      "" '  "^  ""^  "^  "*  "^«"*  »-•>"'»'-"  «»  other  portion. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Books  and  Periodicals 

A  Century  of  Negro  Migration.    C.  G.  Woodson,  Washington.  191& 
The  Negro  Migrant  in  Pittsburgh.    Abraham  Epstein.  Pittrburih.  1918. 
Negro  Newcomers  in  Detroit.    G.  E.  Haynes,  New  York    1918 

l'&*'r"H"f  •  ***"•  '*'6'917.  Annual  Report  of  National  Uaguc  on 

Urban  Conditions  among  Negroes. 
The  1917  Report  of  the  Chicago  Branch  of  the  National  League  on  Urban 

Coiuiitions  among  Negroes.  «^«"«ii 

Negro  -Migration:  WTiat  Does  It  Mean?    Gilbert  N.  Brink  (pamphlet  issued 

by  Arnencan  Baptist  Home  Mission  Society,  New   York) 
Negro  Migration.     New  Republic,  January  1,  1916. 
How  the  War  Brings  Unprophcsied  Opportunities  to  the  Negro  Race     Cur. 

rent  OptmoH.  December,  1916. 
Negro  Moving  North.     Literary  Digest,  October  7    1916 
Cotton^^I'ickers  m  Northern  Cities.    H.  B.  Pendleton.  Survey,  February  17, 

Exodus  in  America.    Lwing  Age,  October  6,  1917 

Lure  of  the  North  for  Negroes.    Hurvey,  April  7,  1917 

Negroes  Come  North.     K.  Moses,  Forum.  August.  1917 

Negroes  Go  North.     R.  S.  Baker,  WorliUs  Work.  July    1917 

Negro  Migralio'i.     P.  H.  Stone,  Outlook.  August   1,  1917 

Negro  Migration  as  the  South  Sees  It.     Survey.  August   il.  1917 

Passing  of  the  Jim  Crow     VV.  E.  B.  DuBois.  Independent .  July  14,"  1917. 

Reasons   Why   Negroes  Go   North.     Survey.  June  2,   1917 

|o.  h  Calling  Negroes  Back.    Literary  Digest.  June  23.  1917. 

Southern   Negroes  Moving  North.     Worlds  Work,  June.  1917 

F"'R*wi°K"'T    ^^K'o**:    East    St.    Louis   and    Detroit   a    Contrast 
«,..  ^-  .V  Washington,  Survey.  July  14.  1917. 
When  Ubor  Is  Cheap.    B.  .\l.  Edens,  Survey.  September  8    1917 
Interstate  Migration.    W.  O.  Scroggs,  JournahoMLlEcoVmi:bt^,mh.r, 
Negroes  Move  .North.     G.  E.  Haynes,  Survey.  May  4.  1918 

""mZ^tZl  iSli"**"''"''  ^^'-  °-  "r-  ^""^^^'  '"'''''*''<''  ^^""-i^- 
Negro  Welfare  Workers  in  Pittsburgh.    Survev.  August  3,  1918 
Negroes  and  prganized  Ubor.    Survey.  February  9    1918 

f;"xa.?o:i.i;s JeT:„ce^^rstiaP^iife  ,S;  '*•  ^'-"'  p--«'-«* 
'''7erce*'of''is^!,°k?r55i?  '^''"-  ^-  ^'-  "'^""-  ^»"<'-'  ^- 

^T^t"s"V\°'V«h,•n!ltnn*^;''''°,V^^'«™  immigrant*  in  Northern 

v«„       ?i        ;•    ■  "^S  .'V*^*.^"'  National  Conference  of  Social  Workers    1917 

ter    'r?!!''"-     ^Sr'P'"  ]^i  "Ty""-  P^or^ons.  November,  19  7  ' 

Southern  Labor  as  Affected  by  the  War  and  Migration.     Monroe  N.  Work 

Procce.linKs  of  Southern  Sociological  Congress.  1918  ' 

%L  ,h         i''".«hern  Labor  during  the  War.     R.  R.  Moton,  Proceedinjts 

Southern   Sociological   Congress.   1918.  rroceeaings 

Ihe  Foundation  (Atlanta),  May-June.  1917. 

17.S 


I 


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BIBLIOGRAPHY 


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Aw,'  ,1  •'i    ""  "■•J^^y  '".  '''♦.  sept.  18,  C 

A  1?^".  f  J?f'?sonville,  Fla.),  Aug.  5,  19  6 

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"^Ta?'^2T,  C-i  •te-']r^Si7''^^-  '''  '-''■  '''  -^^--  ^'  D--  -'■  1^16; 
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papers.  ^  discussion  was  continued  in  the  1918  news- 


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21,  June  8,  Aug.  3,  17.  1918. 
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Aug.  31,  1918. 
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1917;  Apr.  4,  1918. 
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Nov.  25,  1917;  June  15.  1918. 
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74 

i< 


ISO 


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July  7,  25.  28.  Sept.  11.  15.  22,  29,  Oct.  6.  13.  20,  Dec.  1,  1917:  Feb.  2,  9,  16, 

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1917;  June  12,   1918. 
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Mar.  7,  Apr.  11,  14,  1918. 
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Aug.  7,  1918. 
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1917;  June  1,  29,  1918. 
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1917 ;  Feb.  16,  28,  Mar.  30,  Apr.  20,  June  8,  July  6,  1918. 
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1918. 
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June  6.  1918. 
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1918. 
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I 


1S2 


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Walla  Walla  (Wash.)  Bulletin,  Mar.  13,  1918. 
Washmgton  (D.^C.)  Bee,  Feb.  13,  1915;  Nov.  11.  1917;  Mar.  23,  Aug.  17.  24. 

Washington   (D.  C.)   Herald,  Jan.  23.  1916. 

Washington   (D.  C.)    National  Tribune.  Nov.  10,  1916 

Washington  (D.  C.)   Post,  Dec.  4,  1916;  Feb.  25,  1918" 

Washington  (D.  C.)  Star.  Nov.  23,  1916;  Apr.  2,  July  i8   1917-  Sent  8   1018. 

Washington  (D.  C.)  Times.  Nov.  13,  1916;  Sept.  8    1918  ^      ' 

Waterbury   (Conn.)    Democrat,  Feb.  8,  Oct.  29,  1917 

Waterbury   (Conn.)    Republican,  Julv  4,   1917. 

Waterloo  (Iowa)   Courier,  Apr.  3,  1918. 

Watertown   (X.  Y.)   Times.  Nov.  17.  1916;  Feb.  2    1917 

Weekly  Witness  (New  York  City),  Sept.  6,  1916. 

Wesleyan  Christian  Advocate  (Atlanta,  Ga.),  Mar.  22,  1917 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


183 


Westerly  (R.  I.)  Sun.  Nov.  8.  1916. 

Wilmington  (Del.)   News.  Dec.  1,  1916;  Sept.  17.  1917. 

Wisconsin  Weekly  Blade  (Madison,  Wis.),  Jan.  18,  Mar.  15,  Apr.  5.  1917. 

Women's  Wear  (New  York  City),  July  12,  13,  21,  Oct.  3,  1917;  Jan.  23, 

Mar.  27,  Aug.  S,  1918. 
Yonkers  (N.  Y.)  Herald,  July  12,  1915. 
Youngstown  (Ohio)  Telegram,  Aug.  21,  1917. 
Youngstown  (Ohio)  Vindicator,  Jan.  9,  Mar.  23,  1918. 


INDEX 


Aduni,  Hrnry,  4,  A. 

Abbott,    William,   84. 

Africmn    Meihodul    Kpiicopal    Church,    H.'i. 

Akton,  iniiirdlu'ijii  in.  ,"ii,    ll'O. 

Alabama:  migraliunt  frum.  4,  T,  50.  113-74, 

ItSfitl,    107.    Utlt;    cau-f"    ol    mi|iraiion», 

14-in,    I'O'.'l;     Colonuatiin    tc;utKil,    5; 

rfforli    Id    (.heck    inigraliuiik,    7J,    "U;    if- 

fectt  of  miKrationi,  80. 
Albany,  miiirations  to.  .'•O. 
Albrrt    Trostfl    Co.,    rmiiloymrnt    of    negro 

l.ihor.  114  116. 
Allii    C'haimrri    Co.,    emplnyniciit    of    nrgru 

labor,   114. 
Altuona,  miRratJonii  to.  1,34. 
Aluminum  Ore  Worki.  rmployment  of  negro 

labor,  100101, 
Amacu,  Tom,  ItT. 
American    liapiist    Home    Mission    .'Society, 

144. 
American   Car  &    Foundry    Co.,   cmplnymcnt 

of   nexro  labor,  97. 
American  Cast    Iron    Pipe   Co.,  employment 

(f    iicBro    labor,    0,'t. 
American     Federation    of    Labor,     147-148. 

.Vi-c  also    Labor  Unions. 
American     International     Shipbuiliiing     Co., 

employnieiit  of  neifro   labor,   13ft. 
American  Steel  &  Wire  Co.,  employment  of 

negro  labor.  1  OS- 100. 
Andrews.   W.  T.,  172. 

Arkansas:    miRraiions   to,    3.    0,    O.')  t)8;    ef- 
forts to  check  mii<ratii>ns,  7^'. 
Armour  &  Co..  tmpU.ymcni  of  negro  labor, 

100. 
Armstrong  .Association.   137-138. 
.■ttlantti  CoHsttti4twn,  50. 
Atlanta   Indepenilenl.    162. 
.Atlanta  M.itual  Insurance  Co.,  C4. 

Radham.   Henry   I,..  20. 

Bailey,   H.   C,   128. 

Banks.    Kdward    T..    128. 

Beloit;    migrations   to,    110-111;    wages   in, 

111. 
Beloit    Stws.    I.IO. 
Itibliography,   17.')-18S. 
Birmingham  I'oicr  of  the  People,   100. 
■•  nioodv    IsU,"    The.   09. 
Boll  weevil,  damage  to  cotton  crops  by, 

105. 
Booker    T.    W'ashinRlon    Social 

114. 
Bricklayers,   wages  of.    10.   86. 
Brickmasons.    wages   of.   86. 
Brink.   Gilbert    N'.,    144. 
Tirown    Farm.    .17. 
Bryant,  Lewis  T.,   141. 
Buffalo,  migrations  to.  ."6.  67. 
Building  trades,  negroes   employed  In, 
Bus  hoys,  wages  of,   17. 
Fi.itler,  J.    H..   75. 
Butchers,  wages  of.   114. 

Cantonments,  cnnsiructir  n  of.  in  South,  84. 
Capital,  influence  (ii  migration  oT  Xortliern, 

47. 
C.iriienters:    in    Pittsburgh.    122;   wages   of, 

Iti.    86. 
Carter,    R.    .A.,    146. 


14, 

Settlement, 


122. 


tjiues  of  migrations  Of  1870.  xn,  un- 
.iiiploymeni,  14  15.  50;  lailuir  ot  crops, 
14  1.1,  1»15;  wage»,  14-Hl.  s.t;  demand  for 
labjir  in  .North.  14.  17-IS,  JH  I'lt,  10:.', 
lA  o.'"''  "'  '■'•ues'ional  facilities.  18- 
"'•  81,  HA;  treatment  in  courts,  lU-;i0, 
li.,  8.'I8.>;  fee  synttm  and  street  tax,  20- 
.1;  iravcling  acconmiodations,  21-22; 
lynchings  and  mob  violence,  18-10.  22. 
7081  .s.1.  10(11117,  prejudice,  24-25 
NJ;  between  cities  in  .Vorlli,  117-  at 
expresM-d    ihrougli    the    press,    152-174. 

I  liampion  Chemical  Co.,  128 

Charlotte  Star  ot  /i.-».    161. 

Chart  showing  extent  and  trend  of  migrt- 
tions.   71. 

Chattanooga  Times,    100. 

Chauffeurs,   wages  of,    114. 

Chicago:  migrations  to,  45,  68,  60fI7,  69 
102:  opportunities,  20.  102;  increases  in 
negro  population,  7,  51;  housing.  102- 
Um-  wages,  17.  102  103.  114;  welfare 
work,  10,1.  See  also  Kast  Chicago; 
Illinois 

Clitcaga   Defender,  20  :i,T. 

Chicago  Renting  Agents  Association,  103. 

Chicago  Women's  Club,  103. 

Chisholm,    J.    .\.,    37. 

Christian  Index.    163. 

Churches:  etTects  of  migrations  nn, 
144:  aid  rendered  by,  132,  144  147 
I'on  '"•<"'"•   employment   of    women   in, 

Cincinnati,   migrations  to,   57,    125 
Cleveland,   migrations    to,    57,    120  127 
Cleveland     Association     of     Colored     Men 


86. 


126. 


Cliurch, 


1.37 


163 


128. 

Cleveland   Welfare   Federation 

Colonization    Council,    4-5 

Colored       Methodist       Episcopal 
140. 

Coloreil    Protective   .Association 

Columbia    (S.    C.)    ^lalc     155 

Columbus,  migrations  to,  7,  57,    120 

Commerce  and  Labor.  Secretary  of,  00 

Conferences;  to  check  migrations.  70-81 
S3;  in  Ohio.  128;  in  .\Vw  lersev.  140 
American  Federation  of  L.il)or.  147-148' 
^atlonal  League  on  Urban  Conditions' 
among   Negroes,    143-144,   140        """'"' 

Connecticut:     demand     for    labor'     54- 
grations  to.  .50.  58.  141. 142 
See  also   Hartford. 

Connors.    William    R.,    127. 

Convict   system.   3-4. 

Cooks.     1 22. 

Core  makers.    120 

Correspondence,     influence 
tions,   .34,   00. 

Cotton  crop,    failures  of.   1  i. 

Council  of  National  Defense    l*"! 

'^"]0,'oh*'A?,%'5'>,.;"^/J'"«  of  migration,, 
SO  ""'  •    *"«"   of  migrations. 

Crawford.   .Anthonv.    47. 

Cretlii    system.    02  03. 

Crop   failures.   14-15. 

Ciidahv   Snap   Factory.    109 

Culver,  Charles  M.,   130. 


mi- 
wages.  142. 


of.     on     migra- 


iigrations. 


1.^0 


INDEX 


Pallat    I  tpttis,    loa. 

'•<>i».    I.    U.,    Nl, 
i'.i>i.Mi,    niiKraliim   id,    l-Jfl 

','"""''"'■   -'inuilui  ,,.  iii,i(r,iti,..i     -1, 
■•IFKI  of  C„l,,mbu.  mmrat,.  n.  ,u.  ,-,7 
I  1  <ti,iicalii.n  (,l   cr,.|>v    \T, 

KuMarr.   miKralmris   i,,.   .'iT     i;|i 

l|II.t.':     l,uu..nM.     i;il-i:i-       5,.,    a/7« 

Drtruit    l.iihnr    Sens     l."il 

ock    linniU.    wanci  ,if.    IH 

1...    IJil;    in   >(,i,i|,.    Ml. 
l>..rniiiaticin.   trnioial  of   liar  of    III 
UressmakiiiK    trade,    nmro    lal«,r    mi    50. 

Eait      Chicago:      miKralions     in.      lO'MKi. 

aiion    facilit.M,    IIO;    prciudicf,    lio-    re- 
lyrns    lo    loimrr   homn   from.    11(1,      Sft 
aliu    thtcaijo;    lllinoi.. 
r.»»t   St.    fjnin-   miur.itinnt  to.  .'iT     "I't  101  ■ 

m-ind   for   lal,<,r.  IMI;    housing,    UM)      Se» 
also   .M.    Louis;    .Missouri 
EaM   .St.    I.oun  Journal.    101 
hconomic    policy   ol    ,S,uth,   change    in,   fol- 

lowing  migrali,  rn.  h7  H« 
Edge,  Coverror.  of  New  J.  rs.y.  HO. 
tducatioiul     facililies:     laik     of.     cause     of 
"''«""""•,  .'"•'"■    «!•     x--!;    .mrirovein-n! 
Fff-A..        •"   ■•';   «ii;iralioii    ill   kIiooIs.   (Ml. 
EfTecs    on    tlu-    Noith:    incr.  a-e    in    crime, 

HI;   views  of  the  press,    l."r'.174 
Effects      on      ihe     Suuih:      wage",      Mhl  ■ 
change  in  eci.iioiiuc  policies,  S,H!l2-   lalx.r 
H'.v'r"'iA*!;   H''''';    ''■"'■ning  of'preju. 
dice,    NS..SO;     welfare    work,    N8,    <i-'!ll- 
increased    educalinnal    f.nciliiiej,    sa"lM»I 
1»1;    land   tenure  and   credit    syntenis    02. 
rii   viewd   of    Ihe    press,    I.''.2174.      ' 
tfforts  of  the    .North    10    induce   migr-ition- 
labor    agents.     20.     .'jO  .-^7,     40,    fW),    «.-,■ 
nOl'-Io  "■    ""■    "■*•    '"    ''■""•'urgh. 

Effort*  of  the  .South  to  check  migration: 
suppression  of  l.nhor  agenis.  Ms,  72-7-4 
7fln;    through    Tiiskegee    Institute.    Si" 

;S'-V"''-'Jf''  ""  '•'""•«■'"''•  «•■»;  legislation, 
T.i.I.  lO;  increased  wages,  70  S.")' 
change  in  policies,  M-HT,;  improved  edu- 
cational   facilitirs.   S.l,   00-01 

Eiffin,    William    T..    141 

Ellis,    T.     n.,    SI, 

Emerson  &  liirmingham:  employment  of 
negro    labor,    100;    housing    of    its   labor, 

Epstein,    .\hrahain.    IS,    110-120.    122123 
Eric    Railroad,    ilemand   of,    for   labor,    IS.I,' 

Factories,   negro  labor  emplnyed   in     ,"51 
Fairbanks,     Morse    8r    Co..    employment'    of 

negro  labor.    Ill, 
Farm  hands,  wages  of.  80 

''n'egr';  ^l^r^.'^r^TuV''-  ^"""''^"'-«  «>' 

Fee    system,    20-21, 

Firemen,  wages  of,   114. 

Floods   as   cause   nf  migration.    14. 

Floyd,   William.   54. 


Koundrymen     w,ge,    „,.    ,„    ,M„,achu.etts, 
Jj^   m    Alinniioia,    is,    „,    chicjK...    17, 
|;:r«ily.   E.   J,  Jr,   .-,4. 

"H^'yZrtuir/"  ""p'-x"''"'  of 

1117  •    '"■"'•'"n   "I    '<•   labor. 

Ire.-  irinsporlalion,  47  4H. 

**T"l'!.M. '•"'""'••    '""-l">">""    "'    women 

''IXilr  ',1;7','V?;  ^^  •  '"-Pl'-y"'"*  of  „.„a 

Georiiia:    migrations    from.    .IH.    .^O-fl-     nr, 

2   ">','""••   "I    migralious,    1-1     ";•■    "t.! 

.gen.;:-.|0."^''    *"•    »'"»'""    "t    labor 
Cforgia  liHquirer  Sun,    l,-,4 
C.l.s.^w,.,k,,  employment  of  negro  labor  in. 

Guldsmithn    Detmnina    (n      .~.i 

„  negro   lal«,r,    loo  '    ""P'"'""""    ••' 

can    leder:.io;M"Lho-'r"    "'"    '^•""'• 
r.     .    l-'''"'."'    •^"^•■'1    Training    .'Station     ION 
Hrea     Northern    Drive,   The"  ;  O    .il 
Crimke,    Archibald    H.,     IBO     "'   ""• 

H.nrri«liiirg.  migrations  to,  r.7     1"4 

'larri,.  J.eorge  \V.,    ino 

ncrtlord:    migrations  to,   .'.0     ,'i,s     141  1. a. 
*agei,       42;    housing.     142  '*'"2: 

a r  ford    Hapiist    Ass.<iali,  n.' 141 

HarUonl_^tivic    Club,    Housing    Committee 

Havnes,   fieorge   E.,    120 

llobson    A     Walkers    Itrirk     v..  1      1 

ment   of  negro*  l^bor.ioO^"'''    ""P'°y 

"^rist^'i^J't^l^S-l^o-J.Churche,     of 

lloiisiiig     in    M       I.oui.     'lIT'iti.     ;_     L- 
."^t    Inuis    ion.    ■     fV/-  "'■•"':     in     hast 

RocJioyy;j;r^^,;?,Si"^f^u,^r%;;: 
in'i^nw^&-iV?','i^=;;;'^?J'i= 

120  I"".    ;_    «S       .      !    •     '"     1 1  t'burgh 

Philadelphia    i:  7. m-"'j''''r-  '?-'^'  '" 

Howe,    l-rederick   C.   .'.."?. 
"'i?i^'-|,'"''"''"'''"'    «°-    '•    5S,    08,     108. 

'nro   Farr^'lO^s"'"""''    ''""''"'''''"'     "' 

fo;''xegr"oe"."74l{  "'  ^""^^   ""''''   ^"''^ 
{ndiana,  migra'iioni  to,  .1.  r,7    OS 

n,',w1"'  "",!"'»"l';;n»:  discussion,  26; 
North  .;??•';"''•  -^r"'  ■■"*'«"'''  " 
70  to'     -     -"■    •"';     rumors.     2S  20.    40 

1?-  ,J'"'',''''";'',9''"''«''  r>'f">^fr.  20: 

•i«.  arliMtics  of  lahor  ae.ni.  20  .in 
37;  correspondence.  34.  40,  00;  circula- 
tion  of  literature  and  poems,  .l.-s    ,17 

labor  i'w.''''""'''^-  ^"'P'">'"^n«  of  negro 
fntCTdenominational  Ministerial  Union.  1.17 
Intern.itional     T.ead     Refining    Co..    emt^loi: 

ment  of  negro  lahrr,    100  empioy- 

»neri«"7^'-  J"-"'"'^""-  number  born  i„ 
specillrd  divisions  and  1  ving  in  or  out 
iLl^P'^  'iivi'ions.  ]0;  number  living  "n 
•pcc.fied    divisions,    10;    migration    north 


INDEX 


IM 


to  loulh,  k^uili  10  north  and  ra«t  to  writ, 
Hi  iiM  niiiiraiiiin  »>,i»jril  anil  wcit- 
ward  aiMl  iiMrlliwaril  unil  v  utliwjnl,   1;; 

Itjii'rauic  Mill,  i-iripluymeiil  ol  mgi..  Ijdor, 
l*H>. 

Intoiicanti,  u»c  o(,  amutig  ncKri>i>  ni  I'liii. 
iHitKli,  i:t'l. 

iMvaainti     rumciri  of.   2H. 

lima,  mrttraliiins  (mm,  to  WiKcin«in,   111'. 

Iron  anil  ami  indutlrica,  tmiiluymcnt  ul 
iicRru  labor    in,    ll:i, 

Janitnri:  in  Milwaukee,  lU;  in  I'ittiburgh, 

Jeracy    Ciiy,    mi|jraliim»    to,    57. 
luhnaon,  lliarUn  S.  U'.'i.  \2H. 

iimcj,  K.   U.,  !i:(.    l.-i(» 
unca.  Thomas   Jisu',   18.    l.'.O. 
oyer,   labor   aiitiii,    TU 

Kantaa,  miKratiina  lo,  .'Itl.  .'K. 

Kentucky:     nitiir;ilion»    to,  <)M;    migration* 

troni.  !».'>. 

Kriihck    Co.,    employment  o(     women    by, 

i:i;. 

Labor:  — I^bor  agrnn;  activities  i.f.  1M».  3t|. 
."17,  40,  <M),  «,'.;  Iriim  Si.  Lciuu,  Wl; 
Irom  Kaat  St.  I.diiia,  !H>;  Irom  Mil. 
waukce.  111";  (rum  I'lllabufiili,  K'O, 
from  Pennsylvania,  1.1.1;  enurls  ..t  the 
South  to  atippreaa,  38,  72  74,  7(177; 
iiinuiry  of  Council  of  .National  Dritnje, 

LalnT    rni(in<:    prejuilice   of,   4!l;    change 

in  poliiy,  SM,   Hi  I.M. 
Stiilahilily  ot   mgru  labor.    115. 11(1,    11>:|, 
i;tl»i;tl:    ilcniaml    i.i         nil    for.     14. 
competition    in    North,   In,  "".';    coinpari 
son  of  negro  with   lurcign   labor,    125; 
wages— J»   \\  agi  s 
Labor,   l)cpartment  il.  .13.  78. 
I.ancaatcr,    I).    S..    ITiO. 
Lancaster,   migratiima  lo.  134. 
Land    tenure    system,    improwment    in,    02. 

f»3. 
Legal  ail!  (o  negroes  in   Nnrlh.   11'" 
Legislation:  to  check  migration,   7l' 73,  70; 

to  aid  migrants  in   .Norlli.    141. 
Lindemanlloverson     Co.,     A.     J.,     employ- 
ment of  negro  labor.  11311.". 
Literature,  circulation   nf.    influence  on   mi- 

Rraiion.   3.1 
Louisiana:     migration*     from,     4.     .10.    (18; 
causes    of    mmrationi.     14;     Coloniratiori 
Council.    .1;    efforts   to    check    migr.-nions, 

Lumber  stackers,   wages  nf.   1(13. 
Lynchings:  causr  r.   migrations.   1810    '.'2 

711-Sl.     83.     1001(17:     checking     of.     !»4; 

Anthony    Crawford.    47;    in    Ceorgia,    Jl'. 

70;    in   Tennessee.    22. 

Machinists:   in    Detroit.    120;    in   M.issachu. 

silts.   17. 
Macon    Iclcntaph,     1.10 
Ma'ks   Manufacturing   Co.,   wages   paid    by, 

Massachusetts:  migrations  to.  .10;  wages  in, 

1 1. 
Massacres,   cause   of  migration   of    1870,  4. 
Maxwell,   William    11..    140 
Mechanics,   neero    I.Tlior    in.    "il. 
^trmphls  Coiu.iierciiil  Appeal.    1.14. 
Michigan;   migrations  to.  .18,   08     l^O-l.^S- 

migrations  from,    112.     Sre  also    Detroit! 
Midilletown.  migrations  to,    120 
Migrations:      to      Kansas.     1870.     .1-0  •     to 

Arkansaa    and    Texas.    1888    and    1880 


I.'.    1.II7,  ^..t.   tl.ari   sh„v.:tin   .jl.oi   .oj 
iriiiu    o(.    il,    eHort.    lo    ih.ck— i.e    H 
(ort.;   ttleils  ot-    ..■.■    Kllicis 
-Milwaukee:    iiiigrali.  ii-   lo,    III  118,   rfforts 
to    secure     negr..    labor.     III   IIJ      ||4 
I"""!'""  '•C'liii",  111',  117  1l8;'wagc»! 

I  .l-lir.;    prijudui'.    nil,    huu>ing,    J17- 
1D<;  raigrath,n»   Itmn,    117 

''iIX'";i„Vr''"it3'iT,'-"-  «"•»"'"""">«  •' 

■^'rh'nl"';i'"'*  "'■  ""*•'"  '"  '''«'•  ""«•••• 

Miiiiie«,ia     migrations  from,   to   Wisconsin. 

II  J;    wages    in,    18 

*'l"'"'l'J>i  migrations  (r,,m.  4.  4.1.  50  04- 
«8.  Ii,..l.(l.  IH,.  100.  Ill;  i„|on,«„„„ 
?'"'"«"•,''•  •"«""•  ol  inigrali.ms,  14-1.1 
;.iTM  r.'/J'.?'"''!'" '•'"■"^I'  migrations,  72. 
HOIK        "       '    e(lec(a  of   migrations.   87, 

Missouri,  migrations  In,  67.  See  a/xo  St 
Louis.    Kast    St.    Louis. 

Missouri  Malleable  Iron  Works,  employ- 
ment   of   negro    l.ibor.    1INI 

rIoiV''""'    ''"'*"'    "■'•    "'^-      ^"   *'" 
Molders:  in  Chicago.  17;  in  Detroit.  120, 
Moldsetlers.   in    [■iitsbiirgh.    122 
Montgomery    AdvtrUief,     1.1(1.     l(l.l,     jgu. 

1  i((. 
Moore,   Freil   R..   150 

iHhi'  *  *■"■■   *"P'"''"""'  "'  "'«fo  ■•bor, 
Moton.   Robert   R.  1.1(11.11 
Motormen   in    Detroit,    28 
Muckers,   wages  of.    tl4. 

Nagel.  Charles.  00. 

SnuhvilU    Banntr.    J  53 

National    Association    (.,r   the   Advancement 

of  Colored    People,   08.    128     1:|7     i.ij 
National      League     on      Urban      Conditions 

among    Negroes-    aid    to    migrations,    .14. 

•'<>.  welfare  work.  113.  143  144.  140;  con. 

ferencis.  143  144.   140;  in  .St.  Louis,  08; 

in  Chiiago,  00.   104;   in   I'iitsburgh.   121- 

in   Detroit    131-132;  in  Philadelphi.i.  137 
Natl,  rial     Malleable     Iron     Works     employ! 

ment  of  negro   Labor.   11311.1 
National   organiaations.   remedies   for   relief 

hy.    14.1-iril. 
Nebraska,  migrations  to.  ,18 

Ifio"  *  ^"'  ''"'P'">'"""«  of   -leRro  labor. 

New  flrleans  Times  Piravune     1.12 

Newark.      See    New    Tersiy 

New  lersey:  migrations  to.  30  .10.17  1.10- 
migmtions  to  NewarV.  .10.18;  return  of 
WlSn  •"  S""<l'.  .fl"-".  1.30;  hou"ing 
.ff„  .  ir  *"■■'■  '•*"=  legislati-n.  141; 
130-141      *"'"""""'•   '":   welfare  work. 

Newport^  \ews   Shipbuilding  and   Dry  Dock 

'^OS   *"'''■  "'*'■■'"''""  •"•   ^f*.   •"'«.   58.   67. 

New  York  .Wjc  Rep<ihl,r    1.17 

New    Vork  Xews.  .14.   104 

New    York    Age.    43 

New    York   Chhe.    l.'.O. 

Norfolk  Journal  and  Guile    100 

North:  opportunities.  17.  28  20;  attitude 
toward  migrants.  27.  130.  1 .12- 1 74  •  aids 
to    migrants.    143  1.11  -  •  n ,   aias 

North    Carolina,    migrations    from,    4-,1     .39 

Northwest,  migracons  to.   00  ' 

Northwestern    Railroad,   need   of.    f ,  r   labor. 


188 


INDEX 


Oatcs,    W.    11.,    2J. 

Oliiu:  niii^ratiuiu  to,  7,  57.  ll.'5-12t); 
■  lousing,  ll'Ul:;?;  welfare  work,  I'M- 
ll'H;    (.unlercmi's   to    umI    iMiKrants.    1J>< 

Uliiij  I'cderation  lor  Uplift  ot  the  Coloriil 
I'copk-,    i-JS. 

Oliui    Mate    Council    of    National    Defense, 

1 JN. 

Oliio  Slate  and  City  Labor  llureau,  1J8. 
Ohio   Charter   ConiiiiinMon,    \2^. 
Oklahoma,   migraiioiis   to,    U. 
Omaha,    iiiiKraiions  to.   ,Vn. 
Oshkosh  Vaily  A  4'r(Aa'i'i(iT«,  158. 

I'acking  houses,  negroes  employcj   in;    Kast 
ht.    Louis,    100;    Chicago,    IM),    102;    .Mil- 
waukte,     114. 
I'amtcrs:  i:i  I'lltsburgh,  llil';  wages  of,  80. 
I'arker,   Jodtfi_'l.    A.,    SI. 
I'arks,    kf\.,    "!t, 
rattirn   .Makers,   wages  of,    17 
I'ass    Riders,   77. 

I'ennsyKania:   migrations  to,   !),   .'iS-.'lO,   1)3, 

.">7,  07,  i;t4-i:{l»;  labor  agents  from,  1,',5: 

reunns  to   tornur  lionu-s   fr(tm,   lU,"i.    ice 

also    Philadelphia;    i'ltisburgli. 

Peniisvlvania   Kailroad  Co.,  demand  of,   for 

labor,  ti'J,  135. 
Persuasion,  use  of,  to  check  migrations,  7!t. 
Ptister-Vogel     Co.,     employment     of     negro 

labor,    114-11.1.    117. 
Philadelphia:     migrations    to,     ."m-.'S.     l.'i.">; 
preiudice,     lid;    altitude    of    ncRrois    in, 
toward  migrants,   i:i(!;  wages.   i;!(!;   riots. 
I.'tl'i;  housing.   I.'l7i:!!l;  social  work,   i;i7 
Mi'.K     Sec  also  Pennsylvania. 
Philadelphia  Academy  of  Medicine.   137. 
Philadelphia  Christian  Recorder.  104. 
Pittsburgh:  migrations  to.  ,"8.  07,  lin-12.">; 
elTorts    to    secure   negro    labor.    11I>-120; 
housing.     ]2011'2:    social    conditions    m, 
ILM.  rJ4-li;.');  prejudice,  12,T;  wages,  18, 
ll'.'M'i4;  comparison  of  negro  labor  with 
fireign     labor,     i'2't.      See     also     Penn- 
sylvania. 
Pittsburgh  .Associated  Charities,  121. 
Pittsburgh   Ihspatch.    100. 
Pittsburgh,    I'niversity    of,    121. 
Plankington     Packing    Co.,    employment    of 

negro    labor,    11.1  ILI. 
Plantation    government,    84. 
Poems,   circulation   of,    influence   on    migra- 
tion.  .■!7. 
Political   prosecution    in   South,   4. 
Porters:     in     Chicago,     17;     in     Mihvarkee, 
114;    in   Pittsburgh,    122;    wages  of,    17, 
114. 
Pottsville.   migrations  to,    1,S4. 
Pouehkctpsie,    mii;rations   to.   flC. 
P'eiiidice:    Rockford.    107-108:    Waukegan, 
lOf":     K.ist    Chicago.     110:     Brioit,     111: 
Milw.iukie.    llfi;    Pittsburgh.    123:    Phila- 
delphia.   ]3r>:   cause  of  migration.   3.   22, 
24-2.";    of   labor   unions.    4!»  .'il ;    decrease 
in.    M. 
Press,  causes  and   effects  of  migrations,  as 

expressed   through   the.    l."2174. 
Prisoners,    care    of    discharged.     127. 
Professional    men.    migration    oi.    4.". 
Public    opinion    regarding    migrations.    I.'i2- 

174. 
Public    speaking,    stimulation    of    migration 

bv.  27-28. 
Puddlers.  employment  of.  in  'Mttsburgh,  122. 

K.lilr'iads:  efforts  of.  to  secure  negro  labor. 
■'l**.  IL'O;  wages,  lori;  in   Pittsburgh,  122, 
K:ileigh    Independent     101. 
Kialty    Housing   and    Investment    Co.,    127. 


Keeves.    A'-xander,      _. 

KuiKdie>  in  Georgia,  80;  iiicreated  edu- 
lati.n.  facilities,  83,  HO:  through  W 
I  .  IluiKiield,  8;i;  through  Tuakegee  Intti- 
lule,  81;  ci.iilerences,  14.f-144,  through 
churches.  1-14-147;  through  labor  uniuiTs, 
14  I  -1  .ti. 

Kent»:  111  Chicago,  105;  in  Cleveland.  120 
in  ^ew  Jersey.  130;  in  Hartford,  142 
See  also   Housing. 

iaboi''''  lOll'""'  **'"'  *™P'°y™«"'  of  nig'-o 
Kt-turns  to  South:  from  East  Chicago,  110- 

from   Pennsylvania,   135;   from  New  Jet 

sey,    l,t;t.  ■" 

Riley,    Ceorge   .S.,    7,*{ 
Kiots:  m  Kast  St.   Louis.  98-100;  in   Phila 

delphia,   l.io,     See  also  .Mob  violence. 
Kobinson,   Joe,   72. 
Robinson,    William,    107 

'*",''h/."I!'.i  "'"""""'  •"•  lOeiOS;  housing, 
ljm-107;  wages,  100-107;  prejudice,  107 

Rockford  Malleable  Iron  Company:  employ 
mem  of  negro  labor,  l(Mi-I07;  housii  g  of 
Its  labor.  lOti-107;  wages  paid  by,  107 

Rumors,  influence  on  migrations  of,  28-2!) 
40,   (8-71*. 

St.  Louis:  "ligrations  to,  57,  66-67,  05-101- 

separation,  H.-, ;  efforts  to  secure  migrans! 

00:    wages,    !Mi.<»7;    housing,   07-U8      See 

also  Kast  St.  Louis;  Missouri. 
Sanitary    conditions:    improvements   in,    02. 

04;    in    St.    Louis,  08.  ' 

.Scarborough,  \V.   S.,  128 
Schwartz,  John  E.,  H7. 
Scott.   Emmeit  J.,    I."i0 
Scroggs,  William  Oscar,  0 
Segregation,    0506. 
Servants.     See  Domestic  service. 
Shillady,    J.    R.,    I.IO  151 
Shoemakers,  wages  of,   114. 
Singleton,  "Pap"    fBenjamin),  5-6, 
Skilled  workers,  122,  120. 
Smith.    Bridges,    .50. 
Social    conditions:    in    Pittsburgh,    121  ■    iti 

Cleveland,    127.      See  also   Welfare  work 
Soeial   Service  Commission  of  the  Churches 

of   (_ -rist.    121. 
Solvay    Steel    Castings   Co.,   employment   of 
^  negro  labor,  114. 
South    Carolina:    migrations    from,     46-47; 

race    conference,    172. 
Sotiiharriern    Christian    Advocate,    144. 
Springfield,   migrations   to,    120. 
Springfield    f'nion,    l."S. 
Stanton.   \' .    L.,   81. 
Steel  industry:  demand  for  labor.  38.  110- 

negroes    employed    in    Pittsburgh,    122     ' 
Steel   r.iolders,    wages   of.    1 1 4 
Stimulatiim   of  migrations.      See   Influences 
Street  construction  workers,  wages  of    114 
Street    tax    ir.    South,    cause    of    migration, 

Superstitions   of   migrants,    40,    45-40. 
Swift  and   Company,   employment   of  negro 
labor,   100. 

Tannery  laborers,  wages  of,  114. 

Teachers,    viages  of,    18. 

Tennessee:     migrations     from.     4-5,    95-06, 

00;    migrations   to,    08;    Ivnchings,    22. 
Tennessee  Coal.  Iron  and  Railroad  Co.,  03 
Texas:    migrations   to,    3;    migrations    from, 

4:    Colonizatifi      Council,    5. 
Theater  u-hers.  woi,  ?n  employed  as,  129 
Thirkfield.   Hishop  W.   P.,   83. 
Tifion    Ca:ette.   79. 


INDEX 


ISl) 


Tubacco  fields,  wages  of  tabor  employed  in, 
17. 

Trakem  I'limp  Co.,  employment  of  negro 
labor,    100. 

Tuiincll  Construction  Co.,  employment  of 
negro    Hbor,    114-115. 

Tuskegcc  institute:  clTorts  to  check  migra- 
tions.   .SI;    conference    of,    82. 

Transfer  yards,  negro  labor  e;nployed  in, 
100. 

Tran>iHirtation,  influence  on  migration  of 
fears  of,  :;.s.i'f». 

Transportation  paicl  by  Xorthern  employ- 
ers,   13.1. 

Traveling  accommodations,  infltience  on  mi- 
grations. 1'1-J".;;  effects  of  migrations.  Dl. 

Trenton,   migrations   to,   57. 

Truckers,  employment  of  negro  laborcts  as, 
U'i). 

*'  Underground    Railroad,"    68. 
Unemployment,   14-10,  ,'>0. 
I'nion   Central    Relief   Association.    04. 
United   States  I'rodnction  Co.,   100. 
Unskilled    labor,    121',    120. 

I-  Jchshiirg    HerM.    in,"!. 
\'irginia,    migrations    from.    30. 

Wages: — South:  cause  of  migrations,  14- 
18.  20,  .14,  «,•?,  171;  comments  of 
press,  84;  effects  of  migrations,  81, 
S.'i.  S.l-S?.  01. 
North:  In  Pittsburgh,  IS,  12.1124;  in 
Massachusetts  17;  in  Minnesota.  18; 
in  St.  Louis,  06-07.  00;  in  Chicago, 
17,    102-103,    109110,    114;    in    Rock- 


ford,  106-107;  in  Waukegan,  108;  in 
Beloit,  111;  in  Milwaukee.  lia-ll."i; 
in  Detroit.  120-130;  in  I'hiladelphia. 
136;  in  .N'ew  Jersey,  140;  in  Hart- 
ford. 142. 

Walker.   .\.    R.   37. 

Walla   Walla  Bulletin.    100. 

NS'arehousemen,   wages  tif.    17. 

Waukegan,    migrations   to.    108100. 

Waukegan  industries,  employment  of  negro 
labor,    108-100. 

Wehr  Steel  and  Machine  Shops,  employ- 
ment  of  negro   labor,    113. 

Welfare  work:  National  League  on  Urban 
Conditions  among  Negroes.  03,  143-144 
140;  in  Chicago,  103;  in  Ohio,  120128; 
in  Detroit,  131;  in  New  Jersey,  139. 
141:  in  Philadelphia,  137-130;  in  Hart- 
ford,   141-142. 

Wilberforce    University,    128. 

Wilder  Tannery  Co.,  employment  of  ncgn 
labor,    108. 

Wills.  J.    Walter.   128. 

Wilmington,  migrations  to,   134. 

Wilson  Packing  Co.,  wages  paiil  by,   103 

Winston,    Francis   U.,    153. 

Wisconsin:  migrations  to,  110-111;  wages, 
111.     See  also  Milwaukee. 

Women's  Health   League,   88. 

Woods.  J.   S..   114. 

Wright,    R.    R.,    171. 

Yard    workers,    wages    of.    17. 

York,   migrations   to.    134. 

Young     Negroes'     Progressive     Association, 

Youngstown,  migrations  to,  57,  126. 


V 


